


Infactuated

by whoatethepizza



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Iwaizumi Hajime Is So Done, Love Confessions, Love Triangles, Nationals, Protective Kuroo Tetsurou, Sad Oikawa Tooru, Tokyo Nationals Arc (Haikyuu!!), Unrequited Crush, Volleyball, shittykawa
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-21
Updated: 2020-09-22
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:42:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 35,288
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26586808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whoatethepizza/pseuds/whoatethepizza
Summary: Kituchi Yui has always loved volleyball, it practically ran in her blood and she couldn't wait to have a shot at winning nationals. But with the Aobajohsai girls team losing match after match it seems the second year doesn't have much hope.But with a little bit of help from some senior players she believes that this year, at the Spring InterHigh Qualifiers, her team can win it all.Oikawa Tooru x OCKuroo Tetsurou x OCStory taken from my wattpad
Relationships: Kuroo Tetsurou/Original Female Character(s), Oikawa Tooru/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 7





	1. Chapter 1

(A * by their name means they're starting line up)

*Kituchi Yui   
Position- Captain, main setter  
Year- 2nd year  
Height- 162cm  
Hair- curly silver hair that reached mid back, usually tied up  
Eyes- dark green  
Personality- Usually quite easygoing and confident though she does get shy around large crowds. Extremely passionate about volleyball and hopes to play professionally. Takes her role as Captain seriously so she makes a point of helping her team as much as she can.

*Ozaki Himari  
Position- Ace, Opposite Hitter  
Year- 2nd Year  
Height-177cm  
Hair- Straight black hair that falls just above her shoulders, she really wants to dye it blue  
Eyes- dark grey, almost black  
Personality- Loud and fun loving, doesn't know the meaning of the word shy. She comes off as playful and unserious but on the court she takes massive pride in being her teams ace. Is Yui's best friend since Primary school and they've always played together. Has a track record of dating a fair few guys.

*Amaya Kyou  
Position- Right Side Hitter/ Wing Spiker  
Year-2nd year  
Height-170cm  
Hair- wavy black hair, falls to her waist   
Eyes- chestnut brown  
Personality- appears quiet at first but is actually zoning out a lot which is why she tends to be in trouble with teachers a lot. However puts a lot of work into her volleyball skills and is very chatty around people she likes.

Kita Akemi-   
Position- Pinch server   
Year-2nd year  
Height-168cm  
Hair- Straight blonde hair that stops just below her shoulders   
Eyes- hazel   
Personality- The mum friend, seems to always be sorting out messes. Extremely smart and helps with planning strategies for the team, is really more of a coach and prefers to watch then play. Is in the top 10 students academically and helps tutor a few of the girls when they're struggling.

*Sando Yuki-   
Position- Defence specialist  
Year-1st Year  
Height-171cm  
Hair- wavy chocolate brown hair that's cut into a bob  
Eyes- light brown   
Personality- Very shy and doesn't say much if she can help it. Is quite awkward and doesn't know what to do with herself as she keeps growing taller, often slouches. Gets very nervous when playing even though her serves are wicked fast.

*Sasaki Nori-   
Position- Left side Hitter/ Wing Spiker, wannabe Ace  
Year-1st  
Height-175cm  
Hair-straight auburn hair and bangs, falls just below her shoulder  
Eyes- Dark Blue  
Personality- Very bubbly and kind and has a habit of rambling about topics when she gets nervous. Constantly challenging Himari for her position as Ace who she really admires. Is very innocent and often doesn't get jokes.

*Kanno Chiharu-   
Position- Middle Blocker  
Year-1st  
Height-174cm  
Hair-Dark red curls that fall to her waist   
Eyes- light brown   
Personality- Appears very cold and harsh, usually glaring at the floor. In reality she's a huge softy but will never admit it. Acts all tough and has a bad reputation at school so her only friends are from volleyball. Hasn't been playing for long but is naturally talented.

Oba Momoko-   
Position-Setter  
Year-1st Year  
Height-170cm  
Hair- Straight dark blonde hair that falls to her mid back   
Eyes- emerald green  
Personality- One of the more energetic members of the team and a bit of a prankster. Usually jokes around and is a bit of a class clown. Surprisingly serious about volleyball and wants to surpass Yui as a setter. Often doesn't realise how good she is at things as she's used to just being the funny one rather than the talented one.

*Ohara Ichika- 1st year libero  
Position- Libero   
Year-1st Year  
Height- 163cm  
Hair- Wavy dark brown bob and fringe   
Eyes- light blue  
Personality- Himari and her are equally as loud as each other. Doesn't know what an inside voice is and tries to trash talk opponents. Always covered in bruises from practise but is one of the best Liberos Yui has ever met. The happy virus of the team and tries to keep spirits high.


	2. Chapter 2

The Aoba Johsai girls volleyball team only made it to the second round of the autumn tournament. Yui wasn't all that surprised by this considering, apart from herself, the entire starting lineup was made up of third years. This in itself shouldn't have been a reason for the teams lack of wins but all the third year girls had something in common. Oikawa Tooru. They had all joined volleyball in an attempt to win his heart. Yui wasn't entirely sure why they thought playing the same sport would suddenly bloom a relationship but either way she was stuck with a team that wouldn't not succeed.

It wasn't that Aoba Johsai didn't have any good players, quite the contrary. The second years were itching to play and the first years still had that untested passion to be on the team, yet they wouldn't ever be selected.

Akari was the third year captain and she was very clear about who got to play. There was a rank which they had to follow, eldest would play and if they're was a position left then a second year could have it. That's how Yui got her spot as Libero. Yui didn't want to be ungrateful for her position on the team because she felt privileged that she even got to stand on the court but in middle school and her first year she had played setter. Although she enjoyed playing as Libero, she longed to set balls for her team to spike, and perform service aces and have control over the court.

Akari had insisted that with Yui's short height, libero was the only position that she could play. Plus Akari played the role of Setter as a way to be closer to Oikawa. The way the team was structured made Yui want to rip her hair out, the team had such potential but it was being blocked by some careless elders.

Until they made the announcement that with another loss, none of the third years would be participating in the spring tournament. They had explained that the team was hopeless, somehow it was the rest of the teams fault despite not ever playing, and that if they couldn't win they were losers in Oikawa's eyes. The rest of the team did their best to act saddened by the departure but Yui could see they hope in their eyes that maybe they'd get to play, and if they could play they could win.

~*~

It was the first practise for the girls team without any third years and the question in the air was: who was going to be the new captain? Although Yui had the most experience, Himari, her best friend knew the team much better. Yui also felt guilty that she'd been able to play whilst the rest of the team hadn't had the chance to play a competitive game all year. She couldn't help but feel that she didn't deserve to be considered as captain.

Yui was running late for the practise after staying behind to get some catch up work. Once changing into a pair of black workout shorts, sports bra and a plain white top she pulled her silver hair up into a ponytail. As she entered the gym she bowed and apologised for her tardiness, expecting her teammates to scold her.

"First day as captain and you're already running late!" Himari had a slender had placed on her hip as she gave Yui a lazy smirk. The rest of the team stood behind her, similar glints of amusement playing in their eyes as they watch their new captain's face begin to flush.

"Captain?" Yui questioned, not wanting to assume her position.

"Of course! You'll be the captain to lead us to nationals!" Ichika, an overexcitable first year cheered as she jumped on the spot, her chestnut bob bouncing with her. Yui felt her eyes well up and her teams trust in her and gave them her best smile before bowing once again.

"As you're new captain I promise to do my best and get us to nationals!" The team cheered before running up to Yui and forming a group bundle. They all giggled as they fell to the floor.

This was the beginning of a new era.

~*~

Yui had forgotten how hard it was to serve. Being a Libero she hadn't need to do it and when serving drills were happening she'd be the one attempting to receive them. The rest of the girls had already gone home after one of the best training sessions they had had all year, leaving Yui to stomp her way over to collect all the balls that hadn't even managed to get over the net. After the balls were placed back in the cart she tried once more.

Taking a deep breath she launched it high above her, positioning it so it carried a forward trajectory. She soon followed after, leaping into the sky to meet it with her hand. Except she missed. The ball was too high and her fingers only just managed to scrape the ball leaving it to bounce away a few feet away from her shaking form.

"Why is the so hard?!" she yelled out into the empty gym before cussing at herself for getting out of practise. Yui knew jump serves we're hard but she'd managed to get fairly good at them in her first year, even becoming a pinch server at one point. But now she just couldn't get the timing right, she was all out of synch. Early when she was setting during practise she always seemed to be off time too. Frustrated she picked up another ball and served, managing to hit it this time but it landed in the centre of the net.

She screamed in frustration and kept serving, each time either missing the ball, hitting the net or hitting it out of bounds. Again and again and again it was unsuccessful serve after another and with each one her cry's got louder. Until and voice interrupted her meltdown.

"You won't be able to hit a good serve if you keep losing your cool." Yui had decided in that moment she would never return to Aoba Johsai. Standing there with his arms crossed over his chest was Oikawa Tooru. Now Yui wasn't a fan girl but she had eyes and acknowledged that he was extremely beautiful. Not only that but as a fellow volleyball player and setter, her was extremely talented. And he had just witnessed her pull of some of the worst serves in her entire life.

Yui couldn't help her burning cheeks and ears or they way she fumbled over her words to get out a reply before finally managing to get out a full sentence.

"I swear i'm not usually this awful!" She hated how she seemed to squeal her reply and how his smirk only grew in amusement at her embarrassment. She cleared her throat and this time her voice came out even and clear.

"I'm just out of practise is all." He uncrossed his arms and moved towards her, the closer he came the more she was aware of how short she really was and how annoyingly tall he was. The perfect form for a volleyball player. She resented that.

"You're a bit short to be playing a position that serves aren't you cutie?" He patted her hair and gave her one of those smiles she knew her previous captain wouldn't have melted at. Getting over her previous embarrassment, she sent a scowl his way before picking up another ball, fire burning in her eyes to prove herself. This time when she jumped she knew it was perfect. A grin played on her lips as the ball hit her hand just right and in smacked the opposite side of the court, just in the lines. With a smug look on her face she turned to see a rather shocked senior.

"Well I take it back cutie you do know what you're doing." That lazy smirk once again returned to his face and he placed his hand in his pockets looking as charming as ever. This was the first time the third year had ever spoken to Yui and god he was annoying. She sent him another glare and blew the hair that had begun to slip out of her ponytail, trying her best to ignore his presence.

"You know I could help you out with your serves? I usually stay late to practise myself and i do need to work on my receives." He tilted his head, looking directly into her eyes, his gaze unwavering.

"What do you want out of it?" Yui wasn't always the sharpest tool in the shed but she knew that people rarely did things for free. There's always a catch.

"You're my little kouhai how could I not want to help you cutie?" She gave him a blank stare in response, waiting for him to continue.

"Plus you could thank me with a date." Yui clicked her tongue and turned away from the boy, beginning to pick up the balls claiming she was done for today. Surprisingly, Oikawa helped her, teasing when she couldn't reach the net to untie it. She let him blabber on about volleyball, barley listening and just wanting to leave as quickly as possible.

Once the gym was spotless she made a move for her bag that she'd placed on one of the benches but Oikawa grabbed it before her now carrying both of their bags. His actions made her blush once again which didn't go unnoticed by the third year whose grin seemed to grow even wider. Yui attempted to grab the bag back but Oikawa nimbly moves it out of her reach, laughing as she had to jump to reach it.

"Give it back Oikawa-san!" Once again her voice squeaked out of character as she failed to grab the bag.

"Only if you answer some of my questions," she nodded for him to continue, "As much as cutie suits you as a name I'd like to know yours and," he drew out the word playfully, "I'd like an answer to my question about practise." Suddenly, his eyes widened with an idea.

"And I want you to call me senpai." He added on, chuckling at the look of disgust on her face. Finally having enough of Oikawa's little games, Yui straightened her back and met his eyes.

"My name is Kikuchi Yui and in response to your request Oikawa-senpai," her tone became sickly sweet as she batted her eyelashes, "please refrain from  
interrupting my practices." In his shock she managed to rip the bag from him hand and marched out of the door and towards her home.

Left alone in the gym Oikawa smiled to himself. That was the first time a girl had rejected him so outright. He couldn't help but want to know more about Kikutchi Yui.


	3. Chapter 3

It had been two weeks since Yui became captain and two weeks since she had officially met Oikawa. Already she could see how much better the team was and with the training they were all dedicated to, Yui knew they had a chance at nationals. However Yui was having doubts in her own ability as setter and was considering returning to her position as Libero. Her serves were still poor compared to what they should be and her sets were sloppy, either too short or too high. Although none of her team would say it she knew they were getting frustrated with her performance and without a strong setter a team had no chance at victory. Worst of all she hated how elated they all looked when their first year setter Momoko performed a perfect set.

Yui knew she had to make some drastic improvements and fast. She spent her lunches and breaks setting to Himari, the teams ace, and after normal practise she would stay behind and work on her accuracy and serves. It used to all come so naturally to her and now she felt completely useless. On top of that her vertical jump was not high enough. Since Yui only just reached 162 cm she always relied on her jumps to help her block and on the occasion to spike but now she only just manage to get her palms over the net. So her vertical was just another thing she had to improve.

It was currently around 5:30 and Yui had been training for over two hours and she was ready to collapse but each time she thought about a disappointing toss or a poor serve, she kept pushing herself. By this point her palm was permanently red and her fingers ache each time she set the ball to hit a bottle. Her breathing was ragged and she didn't want to think about how sweaty she was after doing jumps.

Her thoughts were interpreted by her phone ringing obnoxiously. Yui dragged herself to her bag and answered it, her favourite cousin the one who had called her. He complained that she was supposed to be helping out at the store her mothers side of the family owned and if she didn't get over there quickly he wouldn't pay her. Yui cursed under her breath and quickly tidied the gym telling her cousin that she'd lost track of time. This only led to another onslaught of nagging telling her she needed to take care of herself. As she walked to the corner store he was still ranting about her lack of rest until she entered.

Some boys around her age were joking around and buying snacks after some sort of club. Yui guessed because of their matching black tracksuits but she didn't take much notice of them. Her legs trembled as she made her way behind the counter and snatched her cousins cigarette out of his mouth.

"Yah Keishin I told you to quit that dirty habit!" She spoke informally dispute the fact he was nearly 10 years older than her. He grumbled at her for being disrespectful but didn't light another knowing she would only put it out again.

"I'll quit smoking the day you stop overworking yourself." Yui childishly stuck her tongue out at him before tying on the work apron and picking up a box of stock to put out on the self. The five boys that were in the store all stared at her wide eyed at her actions to their coach.

"Did you see how she just spoke to Coach I can't believe it." A boy with freckles addressed the group with wide eyes. They quietly discussed the girl and who she was in relation to their coach.

"Niisan how are your new little team going? Think they have a shot at winning InterHigh?" Yui had returned to the counter with the empty box and a playful glint in her eyes.

"Actually," Ukai gestured towards the five boys who had yet to stop staring, "you can ask them yourself." Yui finally took notice of the boys, two of them around her height which surprised her. The two short boys seemed to shake with energy as they cried out how they would win nationals this year. She admired the fire in their eyes as they spoke, rambling about how great they were.

"Nishinoya-senpai is the best Libero in Japan and Tanaka-senpai can spike so hard!" The orange haired boy bounced up and down as he continued to point to his teammates. "Oh and Yamaguchi is super good at float serves and Kageyama give me the perfect tosses so I can just POW!" He yelled as he imitated spiking a ball down. Yui couldn't help but laugh at his enthusiasm which mirrored her teams Libero Ichika.

"Well I wish you boys good luck, I'm sure with Niisan's coaching you guys will be a force to be reckoned with." She grinned at the excitable boy before picking up another box.

"She might not look it but Yui also plays volleyball." Ukai placed a hand on his cousins shoulder and tried to to laugh at the heart eyes that seemed to come out of Tanka and Nishinoya's eyes. The boys commented how cool that was, except for Kageyama who just nodded.

"Really that's so cool what position do you play?" Hinata asked, Yui had learnt his name after Yamaguchi had told him to calm down.

"You're pretty short so you're probably a Libero right?" Kageyama's blue eyes met her soft green eyes as he took notice of how she barely reached Coach Ukai's shoulder. Her lips formed a pout as Ukai laughed at her scowling face.

"Just because I'm short doesn't mean I can only be a Libero!" She huffed and walker away to stock some more shelf's, muttering under her breath about tall volleyball players and how she hated them all.

"Yui actually plays as setter and she pretty touchy about her height. Anytime she plays she always gets comments about how she can't be a good setter if she's so small." Hinata looked over at the girl, his heart understanding what it felt like to be underestimated and unrecognised. Kageyama rubbed the back of his neck not sure if he should apologise for his statement.

Ukai seeemed to notice the setters dilemma and patted him on the shoulder.

"Don't worry about Yui, that stuff stopped effecting her by now." Ukai grabbed another cigarette from his pocket and lit it, taking a couple drags before addressing the small group.

"Now scram! I already see you boys too much." They all jumped at their coaches sudden mood swing and ran out the door not wanting to stick around with a grumpy coach. Ukai returned back to his newspaper and let Yui continue her work, ignoring her nagging about his bad habits.

They're weren't many customers coming in so they both decided to shut ten minutes early. Yui was pestering Ukai about how to improve her sets whilst Ukai grumbled that he already coached enough for one day. As the responsible older cousin he walked Yui home saying a quick hello to his Aunt before going back to his place.

~*~

It was late June and Yui seemed to finally be making some progress with her sets. Although they still needed improvement, she couldn't help but smile wider whenever she tossed. However with all her extra time spent practicing or helping out at the store when Ukai was coaching, her grades had begun to drop.

"You know Yui if you put as much work into you're studies and you do volleyball you'd be the top student in our year." Akemi teased Yui as they headed to lunch with the other second years. Akemi was by far the smartest of the second years, managing to be in the top 10 of the year, and somehow Yui was in the same class as her. Usually Yui was good at balancing her studies and volleyball but lately she'd fallen behind. Being the kind friend she was, Akemi had offered to help tutor Yui after practise.

The two girls sat down at a small picnic bench with Himari and Amaya. The four second years discussed new training plans for the team as well as other gossip from around the school. Himari was in the middle of telling them about a boy in the first year who had tried to confess to another girl in her class but was interrupted by a sharp elbow to the stomachs from Amaya. Himari went to complain about the sudden abuse but stopped short as she saw two figures walking towards them.

"Yui-chan~" A voice called out to the girl, her back stiffening in recognition. Her immediate thought was to run but a strong arm wrapped around her shoulders and the boy sat next to her. Oikawa Tooru had found her. Immediately Yui remover her seniors arm and tried to move away. She noticed that another member of the boys volleyball team, Iwaizumi she recalled, politely asked to sit next to Amaya who nodded and brushed her black hair behind her ears.

"Don't be like that Yui-chan." Oikawa poked her check, enjoying how her face flushed at his actions. She swatted his hand away from her face and asked him why he was bothering her. Iwaizumi seemed to want to punch his friend for dragging him over to a group of second years but he was also enjoying watching a girl turn down Oikawa.

"Well as the two captains of the volleyball team I thought we should get to know each other." His closed his eyes and smiled whilst bringing his hand up into a peace sign, ignoring the scoff that came from his teammate. Himari noticed how uncomfortable her best friend was as a mischievous grin played on her lips.

"You know Oikawa-san, not only are you two both captains but you play the same position," Yui shot Himari a glare which only spurred her on more. "It's like you two were meant for each other." A loud groan escaped Yui's pink lips as she kicked her friend under the table as payback for her comments. Oikawa seemed to glow at this new information as he grabbed both of Yui's shoulders and shook her.

"Why didn't you tell me cutie? You really should practise with me." The rest of the table seemed surprised at the nickname but Yui only sighed.

"Look Oikawa-san," he cleared his throat when she addressed him as san but she ignored him, " I really appreciate you wanting to help our team but we're perfectly fine by ourselves." She sent him a kind smile hoping that now he would leave but once again Himari grinned.

"Actually Yui weren't you saying that you wanted to improve you setting skills? Isn't Oikawa-san the perfect person to help you?" Another kick was deliver, much harder causing Himari to grunt in pain.

"Yui-chan we've still got twenty minutes left of break let's go now!" Oikawa latched on to her hand and dragged her from her seat and towards the gym, calling for Iwaizumi to follow him. The three second years all grinned at each other before following the others.

By the time they got to the gym, Oikawa was wrapping his arms around Yui to help her position the ball. However before he could get any closer to the beet red girl a ball flew and smacked him in the face.

"Hey Trashykawa don't be weird!" Iwaizumi scolded his teammate and pulled him away from the girl. Oikawa rubbed the back of his head in pain and complained that his hair was ruined now. The second years all giggled at the incident and the dynamic the two had.

"Thank you Iwaizumi-senpai." Yui grinned as she spoke knowing it would annoy Oikawa. He flung his arms in the air and lamented how unfair life was that Iwa-chan was called senpai and he wasn't before he was interrupted by another ball the the head, this one from Yui.

"I though you said you were going to help me set." The other second year girls laughed, seeing their captain back to her usual self. Meanwhile Iwaizumi was on the floor struggling to catch his breath and the beautiful sight he just saw. How he wished he had recorded that moment. Oikawa pouted and trudged over to give Yui some pointers. Himari started asking Iwaizumi for help on her spikes whist Amaya and Akemi practised serves and receives.

By the time the bell rung they were in the middle of a 3v3 each of them laughing as Oikawa complained about Yui being on Iwaizumi's team. Yui couldn't help but think maybe Oikawa wasn't as bad as she first thought. They all moved to grab their things to go back to class but Yui grabbed Oikawa's wrist, keeping him back to talk.

"Um I was wondering if you wouldn't mind helping me out with my sets and my serves." Oikawa grinned in victory at finally getting to spend more time with the girl and asked her if Wednesday after practise was good. She nodded and begun to walk away.

"Hey cutie one more thing before you go." He called out after her, that familiar smug grin on his face. "What's my name~" he teased seeing the pink begin to rise on Yui's pale cheeks, he just loved her calling him Senpai. She knew exactly what he wanted and gave him her most innocent smile she could.

"Thank you for helping me," she began to walk back to class, just as she reached the door the the gym she looked over her shoulder, silver hair dancing around her face, "Trashykawa." She giggle as she ran away hearing his cries of anguish and his cusses aimed at his Vice Captain.


	4. Chapter 4

Yui was desperate to get her team some practise matches. They had managed to get one a few weeks ago against Date Tech after one of the girls, Sando Yuki a first year pinch server, said her brother's girlfriend played on the team. They had lost. But all the girls were pumped from playing a match that wasn't just against themselves. The big issue was that they didn't have an official coach, sometimes the boys coach, Irihata, would come in and help them with drills but they didn't have the connections. Their club Sensei was the first year English teacher who had only been at the school for two years and she didn't know much about volleyball at all and often couldn't make practise because of her young child.

So Yui sat at home desperately trying to figure out how to solve her problem. Spring InterHigh qualifiers were in a month and they'd barely played as a new team and Yui still wasn't happy with her performance. Yui got up off her bed and went down to make herself some dinner before she got too tired to do anything, her mum had left to go to London for a meeting with a supplier of the company she worked for and would be gone for two weeks. Yui was used to these trips and knew how to take care of herself but her mum felt better knowing that she wasn't alone so Keishin usually stayed with her.

He had texted her saying he was just coming back from Kurasuno and needed to speak to her about a couple things. Feeling lazy she played a couple packets on instant ramen in a pot just as her cousin walked through the door, his blond hair in its usually style.

"Hey kiddo how was school?" He ruffled her hair as a greeting before shaking his head at her choice in dinner, scolding her that instant ramen was not the food of an athletes. She batted away his hand and turned back to the noodles watching the water boil.

"So what was it you wanted to talk about?" She asked as she pulled out two bowls and cracked a couple eggs into the soup.

"Well the boy's have got this training camp in Tokyo next week so I'll be going with them which means I can't baby sit you." He began to slurp up the noodles before continuing.

"So I thought that you could tag along with me if you wanted. I know you have your team but I'm sure Himari could take care of them for a week. I think it would be a good opportunity for you to see other playing styles and improve your game." Yui was hesitant. As captain she should really stay but the camp would be a great place for her to learn some new techniques not just for herself but for her team also.

"Let me ask the girls what they think." Yui send a quick text to the teams group chat asking them what they thought of the training camp. The two cousins continued to bicker as they cleaned up their dishes gave the house a quick clean. You checked her phone to see encouraging messages from her team. Akemi made the point that Yui could send videos of boys for them to analyse and incorporate plus they didn't have any matches that week and they would only be doing drills. Himari sent a separate message outside of the group chat to calm Yui.

don't worry about the girls i'll keep them in-line go have fun and tell me if they're any cute boys xx  
[sent 20:14]

"Keishin!" Yui called downstairs where her cousin was lounging on the sofa watching an old volleyball game. He grunted in response urging her to make her point.

"The girls said they're fine with me going, what time do we have to leave?" Keishin yelled to her the details of the event before continuing to watch the game. Yui jotted down some of the key points before returning to her homework that she'd left the the last minute once again. She sighed as she realised it would be a late night if she wanted to get it finished.

~*~

Even after three practises with Oikawa, Yui was still not used to his flirting but she did manage to deal with it better. Most of the time she would end up hitting him if he crossed the line but she sometimes found herself teasing him back, proud when she managed to make him blush. Despite the near constant flirting, Oikawa was actually a very good teacher. Already her serves were much more consistent and her sets were getting more and more precise.

Oikawa wouldn't admit it to Yui but she had the talent and the mentality to become one of the best setters in high school volleyball. He noticed she had a habit of focusing on when she played poorly and didn't see how well she could read the court and her team. He wondered how good she would be if she hadn't been a Libero for a year and gotten out of practise. In fact he hadn't realised how good the girls team was at all.

They two teams found themselves playing some practise matches together with mixed teams. All of the girls seemed to be fuelled by this energy to keep playing and they were improving drastically over such a short period of time. Despite Yui's height she didn't seem to have any issues keeping up with blocks and sets and Oikawa was reminded of an energetic orange crow that he'd played.

During their private practices they'd opened up to each other. Yui realised how much of a nerd Oikawa was and how he would ramble about conspiracies about aliens and how he'd love to go to space. He was also annoyingly smart, especially on the court. Oikawa seems almost flawless from what she could tell and as much as she'd grown to like him, it still annoyed her.

The two teams found themselves sharing lunch together and even meeting up outside of school to hold mini matches. But rumours had started to spread that Oikawa and Yui had begun to date. That in itself hadn't bothered the girl all that much, people could think whatever they wanted, but it was his fan girls that were a problem. It had started off as just whispers in class of in the hallway, snide comments about her hair or her body or her uniform. Then small pranks, her hair tugged in class, hiding her glasses when she'd gone to the toilet, filling her locker up with rubbish. Yui was glad she would have a few days away from it.

It was far too early for her liking and she was practically unconscious leaning against her cousin as they waiting for his team. Yui was too tired to take much notice of the team, she recognised a few of the faces and noticed that the ball of energy Hinata wasn't there. She was a bit disappointed that he wasn't coming, something about him just made her smile.

No words were spoken as they entered the bus, Keishin and the Kurasuno teacher both took the first two seats and the two female coaches sat together as well. Yui pouted realising she wouldn't get to bug her cousin the whole journey. She thought she might sit next to Yamaguchi, he seemed nice and she at least knew his name but he sat next to a tall blond kid with glasses. The other two that she knew also sat next to each other leaving the only empty seat next to an intimidating man with long hair. Yui questioned if he was even a high schooler considering the goatee he sported but politely tapped him on the shoulder trying her best not to let out a whimper when he looked at her.

"Um I sorry for bothering you but could I sit there." Her hands shook as she pointed to the window seat worried he would say no. He squinted his eyes in confusion but nodded his head and stood up to let her in. He was taller then she expected and quickly scurried into her seat. The bus began to move off and the entire team seemed to fall asleep.

~*~

"So who is she?" A voice whispered near by.

"She's coaches cousin." Another hissed back.

"She really pretty, do you think she's single?" Yui began to stir from her sleep, rubbing her eyes and squinting as she adjusted to the light. Her seat mate and four others surrounded her also focused on her form. Like always she flushed in embarrassment and tried to sit up straight and fix her hair that had fallen out of her low ponytail. She recognised two of them as Nishinoya and Tanaka, second years like herself, and another with silver hair like herself. But it was the one with dark short hair you spoke first.

"Ah sorry for waking you up we were all a bit curious about who you were." He gave her a warm smile that made her calm down.

"I'm Daichi Sawamura captain of the team."

"Oh I'm Kituchi Yui, your coaches cousin and captain of Aoba Johsai's girls volleyball team." The two boys she didn't know introduced themselves and third years Koshi Sugawara and Asahi Azumane.

"So Kituchi-san you're only a second year and you're a captain, that's pretty impressive." Asahi complimented her, he wasn't nearly as scary as he appeared.

"Just call me Yui, everyone does, and yea I guess it is but we don't have any third years on our team anymore." The boys listened intently as she explained how she became captain and they watched shared stories about volleyball, laughing at the mention of Hinata serving into the back of Kageyama's head. It didn't feel like long until they had arrived at the training camp. Yui's leg bounced in excitement at the thought of getting off the bus, and of course getting to improve her skills.

As she stepped off the bus, Keishin introduced her to Kiyoko and Yachi who were managers of the team. Yui was in awe of how beautiful Kiyoko was and have Yachi the friendliest smile she could when she saw how nervous the girl was. Yui was about to introduce herself before a cry cut her off. A boy with a mohawk collapsed on his knees and stared at them with tears in his eyes.

"Three girls just isn't fair, now they have a pretty one and cute one and Kiyoko the goddess." Tanaka stowed infront of us and spread his arms talking about the true ability of Karasuno. Yui was about to mention that she wasn't actually from Karasuno but Kiyoko suggested that they leave to put their bags in the girls room.

Once they made it to their room the two managers quickly dropped off their things and move towards the door.

"You guys go on without me I'm just going to freshen up a bit." They both nodded and left. Yui sent a quick text to her team and mum to say she'd arrived safely and began to change out of her tracksuit. She slipped on a pair of loose black shorts that reached mid thigh and pulled on one of Keishin's old volleyball tops before slipping on her trainers and tying her long hair back into a high ponytail. Deciding that the journey had made her look a bit rough, she also added some concealer under her eyes as well as some mascara before leaving to find the gym. That task wasn't nearly as difficult as Yui thought it would be as the boys were yelling and balls smacking the floor.

She gently opened the door and peaked her head in and tried to spot her cousin. Unfortunately Karasuno were on the other side of the gym so she'd have to manoeuvre her way through the unfamiliar teams. Yui wasn't really a shy person but large groups of tall boys was enough to make anyone tremble. She thought is was best to just sneak past quietly and it was working well until a loud voice startled her.

"Hey look out!" She turned to see a ball flying towards her, a tall silver haired boy had hit it poorly out of bounds but with plenty of force. Yui's instincts kicked in as she faced the balled and bent her knees to receive it. One of the benefits of player Libero was that her receives were excellent. The ball arched perfectly and a boy with dark messy hair caught it easily. Realising that quite a few people were staring, Yui jogged over to her cousin.

"Whoa that was a really nice receive Yui-san." Nishinoya was jumping up and down, he didn't think this girl could get any better. She thanked him for his compliment before turning to her cousin.

"Could you ask Nekomata-Sama if there's anywhere for me to practise?" Keishin told her she was a big girl and pointed her over to the team that had launched a ball at her. She poked her tongue out at her cousin and shuffled over timidly to the Nekoma team.

Yui had met coach Nekomata a few times when she was younger, her grandfather used to love to take her to their games, so when he noticed her arrival he grinned and waved her over. Once she was near enough he pulled her into a hug before holding her at arms length to look at her.

"Well look at you little Yui! You've grown up so much since I last saw you." She gave him as shy smile and tried to calm her reddening face, she wondered if he could be anymore embarrassing.

"Hey brats I want to introduce you to our rivals little granddaughter Yui." Now the whole of Nekoma was looking at her, it did get more embarrassing it seemed. She gave a shy smile and an awkward wave making sure not to make any eye contact.

"Wow it's the pretty Karasuno manager." The same boy from early gushed but was silenced by the teams Libero before he could say anything else.

"Actually I don't got to Karasuno." They all gave her a confused looked including coach Nekomata.

"I'm a second year at Aoba Johsai High School and Captain of the girls volleyball team, Kituchi Yui." She gave them a polite bow.

"Ah that explains the great receive early." The dark haired boy from earlier nodded in her direction, an attractive smirk playing on his lips.

"Oh yeah sorry about that, I didn't expect someone as tiny as you to be able to play volleyball." The silver haired boy apologised before get kicked by the Libero.

"You're being rude Lev." He scolded before apologising to Yui. She turned back to Nekomata, wanted to leave quickly.

"I was wondering if you knew somewhere I could practise." Nekomata nodded and led her out into another and told her where to find everything before leaving to coach his team. Yui put up the nets for the woman's height and began to warm up.

~*~

Yui had been at it for an three hours. She had discarded her top and continued her jump practise with just a sports bra on. She'd found a box that was about two and a half feet tall and had begun to jump up squat and jump back down. Her calves and thighs burnt but she kept pushing herself further. Just as she went to jump again a voice called out causing her to stumble and hit her knee.

"Oh shit sorry my bad are you okay." The dark haired Nekoma player helped Yui up, looking away when he realised she was just in a bra. She seemed to notice too and ran to grab her top and pulled it over her head.

"Uh coach said to tell you that lunch was ready." She nodded her head and began to follow him out.

"I'm Kuroo Tetsuro, Nekoma's Captain." His arms rested behind his head as he walked, clearly a lot calmer then Yui.

"So what brings you down here? I mean I know coach said you were Ukai's granddaughter but seems a bit odd to come down with a team that's not yours." He looked down at her noticing the sheen of sweat that coated her skin and how she was still trying to catch her breath. He steps slowed a bit so it was easier for her to keep pace.

"Kei- I mean Coach Ukai was looking after me whilst my mum is out of the country, he said I could tag along and it seemed like a good chance to learn." He nodded and admired her passion for the sport, it was clear as day how much she loved volleyball.

"So you play Libero right?" He guess because of her height and her perfect receive from earlier. Yui's eye twitch as yet another person assumed that she was a Libero but decided to just nod. It wasn't entirely untrue. She knew that after the official matches she might have a shot at playing with some of the boys and she wanted to surprise them with her skills.

They entered the cafeteria and lined up to grab some lunch. Yui was surprised when Kurokawa followed her to that table with some of the Karasuno third years. Yui took a seat next to Sugawara who had moved up to give her some room whilst Kuroo slid in between Daichi and a player from Fukurōdani Academy.

"So how are the games going Daichi?" Yui kindly asked but was given a groan in reply and the Karasuno Captain just shook his head in frustration.

"We haven't won a single set yet." Sugawara explained and Yui nodded her head in understanding.

"Ah that does suck," she noticed Kuroo and the Fukurōdani boy snicker, "but you're missing Hinata and Kageyama right?" The Karasuno boys nodded.

"Well you're going to be off balance without them since you're used to playing with them. So don't loose hope, Keishin niisan always talks about how great you guys are." She gave them a beaming smile and watched as they nodded their heads vigorously and went back to eating.

"So what have you been doing?" Daichi asked keeping the conversation going. Kuroo suddenly thought about Yui with only some shorts and a sports bra on, sweat running down her chest and stomach and her faced flushed. No one noticed the pink tint his cheeks had taken.

"Just some workouts really. My girls are still working hard so I have to as well." She another spoon of rice before continuing.

"But I think I'll watch the matches after lunch. I'm hoping you boys will impress me and give me some ideas for my team." She felt much more comfortable in a smaller group, especially when she knew a few of them.

Once she was finished Yui took all the boys plates and helped the other managers with tidying up. Her and Yachi talking about how scaring some of the boys were and how they wished they weren't so small. They all walked back together to the gym and Yui was exited to see her cousins team play.


	5. Chapter 5

Yui knew that Karasuno weren't bad, each member was inarguably talented but compared to the other teams they just didn't stand out. However, she couldn't deny how impressed she was at their unwavering dedication, they never complained when they had their flying lap or blamed each other for their loss. Yui could see the potential that the boys had. The other teams were just as amazing as well.

Karasuno were currently playing Ubugawa, managing to keep up with their powerful serves quite well. The game was interrupted by a small woman with cropped blonde hair, Kageyama and Hinata behind her. They all were breathing heavily but the freak duo were grinning as they made their way inside. Nishinoya called out to the girl and explained she was Tanaka's older sister. Yui greeted them all and wished the boys luck, her leg bouncing in excitement to finally see the quick attach her cousin would not shut up about.

Kageyama switched out with Sugawara and Nishinoya came off for Hinata to play, the arrival of the two seemingly upping the energy of the whole team. Yui noticed that Ubugawa didn't seem to take much notice of Hinata and were focus on the dark haired setter. Her heart went out to the short boy knowing exactly the feeling when your opponents didn't even consider you a threat. But she also know that nothing beat the satisfaction when you crush them to the ground. 

When it finally happened Yui almost missed it. She'd never seen anyone move the way Hinata did, his jump was unbelievable and she noticed that his eyes were closed. Hinata has complete trust that Kageyama would get the ball to him and Yui longed to be that good that her team felt the same way. Once the shock wore off she couldn't help but cheer, leaping out of her chair to hug the boy.

"Hinata that was the coolest thing I've ever seen!" He blushed but couldn't fight the beautiful smile that stretched from ear to ear.

"Really Yui-san!" The two of them jumped in excitement, Nishinoya joining in as well.

"Break it up midgets, we still have a game to play." The three of them shot a glare a Tsukishima but dispersed back to their position, Yui taking her seat next to Keishin. He noticed the gleam in her eyes as she watched the game and smiled fondly at her, even though she would be turning seventeen soon she was still a little girl to him.

Karasuno has finally won their first game and even though they weren't here team, Yui couldn't stop the swell of pride for them. They really were the underdogs that could win it all. Once the matches were over she chatted with Hinata about how cool the quick attach was.

"Oh and Kageyama?" The boy had walked ahead but turned when Yui called his name.

"You're an amazing setter, I've never seen someone able to deliver exactly what his team needs so perfectly and without fail." He was surprised by the compliment, expecting her to dislike him because of the comment on her height the last time they had spoken. He quickly bowed in thanks to avoid letting anyone see the blush that tinted his cheeks.

Yui excused herself to go to the bathroom and untie her hair. She moaned as she massaged her scalp, why did it always hurt so bad to have her hair up? She brushed it out letting it frizz slightly, and admired how it fell to her waist in loose waves. Her hair was something that she got from her father, she didn't see much of him anymore, her parents had divorced when she was in primary school and he usually forgot to contact her after he moved to Tokyo.

It felt nice to be alone for a bit. All the boys seemed to be hyperactive which was great fun but Yui felt at peace by herself. The sky was clear above her and she could make out a few constellations, the breeze warm as it whipped past her. Yui walked around the school, exploring the different corridors and floors but as it got darker the peace became eerie and she didn't want to be alone anymore. She found herself outside, the sky now black and most of the lights that would have illuminated her way turned off.

Noticing light creeping through a crack it on of the gym doors, Yui ran towards it. A part of her brain suggesting that something was chasing her and that only in the light was she safe. She flung open the door and slammed it closed behind her, chest heaving from the run. When she turned away from the door she noticed four boys staring wide eyed at her.

"Hey, hey, hey!" A boisterous voice called out making Yui jump. A tall boy with black and silver hair began to walk over to her. She recognised him as Fukurōdani's ace but couldn't recall his name. Yui was surprised they all couldn't hear how loud her heart pounded in her chest and noticed that there was another boy from Fukurōdani as well and Kuroo and Lev.

"Is there something out there we should know about?" The owl like boy asked, seeming genuinely concerned that a creature might have followed Yui to the gym. Finally managing to catch her breath, she nervously tugged on the ends of her hair.

"Uh no I just um..." She quickly tried to pull together an excuse.

"I really wanted to play!" In her nervousness she had practically yelled and Yui winced as she covered her mouth. She wished she was able to just give normal replies when she was nervous but something in her brain always made her embarrass herself.

"Well then let's play!" The Owl boy introduced himself as Bokuto and his teammate as Akaashi, the teams setter. Yui's ears perked at the position and resisted questioning him on how he played. They decided that she'd join the two Fukurōdani players since Kuroo wanted to help Lev with his blocks and receives.

For the first few rounds Yui just received of passed the ball, wanted to get a gage on her players. She noticed that Lev wanted to spike more than block plus he seems tired, he wasn't jumping as high as she'd seen in the earlier matches. They'd also decided that they'd be doing serves since it didn't matter how many teammates you had and it was finally Yui's turn. She knew that Lev didn't expect much and Kuroo still thought that she played as Libero so was expecting a basic serve.

Inhaling, Yui three the ball high, flinging her arms back as she jumped. In the air it felt as though she paused. Yui could see the shock on all the boys faces as well as the perfect place to aim. Just like Oikawa had taught her, she placed as must force as she could into her arm and smacked the ball directly in between her opponents. That feeling she had when she surprised people, when she destroyed their expectations was unbeatable.

"Well I have to admit that I didn't expect that." Kuroo laughed and scratched the back of his neck whilst Bokuto ran over and picked Yui up.

"Wow that was so cool you just went FWAH and then hit it like SMASH and then it went BOOM!!" Yui couldn't hold in her laughter at the third year, who would believe that he was one of the top five spikers in Japan? Yui was finally released and went to serve again. This time Kuroo was expecting it and managed to receive it, Yui had noticed Nekoma was exceptional at keeping the ball up.

Akaashi has managed to deflect the spike the Lev had poorly set for Kuroo and Yui moved quickly to get herself under it. Her practice was really paying off so when she tossed the ball to Bokuto, who'd already begun to jump, she knew it would be exactly where it needed to be. Kuroo and Lev ran to block the spike, ready for a line shot but Bokuto changed his angle midair and switched to a cross shot. However, Kuroo's constant smirk widened as he moved his hand directly in the balls path, blocking the ball completely. As expected of the Nekoma Captain.

With Lev's constant complaints that he wanted to go to bed, they decided to pack up with Yui's team in the lead. Yui and Akaashi stayed mostly silent as they cleaned the gym, tired from the first day I've the camp. They same couldn't be said for Lev, Bokuto and Kuroo.

The two captains couldn't seem to stop teasing each other and their loud voices carried in the almost empty hall. Yui was surprised one of the coaches had come in to tell the boys to keep it down. As they all made it to the door, Lev yelled a quick goodbye before striding into the darkness, clearly eager to get to bed.

Yui couldn't help but let her mind drift to her thoughts of creatures lurking in the dark waiting to get her. It didn't matter that she knew how irrational her thoughts were, she still stiffened at the idea of walking back to the managers room alone. Kuroo places a warm hand on her shoulder, removing Yui from her trance and motioned towards the ace and setter who were wishing her goodnight. Then in was two.

Kuroo could tell just how agitated Yui was getting being out in the open with only the light from the gym and couldn't help but smirk down at her, mischief shining in his golden eyes.

"Yui would you mind turning of the lights for me, I'll be going first." He suppressed his laugh when he saw how wide her green eyes got at the thought of being alone in the dark again. She stumbled over her words but agreed and wished the boy goodnight. He thought it was cute how despite clearly being terrified, she still agreed to be the last one. He smiled sifting down at her and built up the courage to ruffle her hair, it was softer than he expected.

"I'm only teasing Yui, I'll walk you back to the managers room, no need to worry about the bogeyman." She let out a sigh of relief before sending a quick flick to his nose, rising to her tiptoes to do so.

"Don't tease people like that it's mean!" A pout played on her lips and she scowled up at him, arms crossed over her chest. But when Kuroo suddenly switched off the light she yelped and grabbed on to his arm. She could feel his chest rumble as he laughed at her reaction and she was momentarily glad that he couldn't see how flustered she'd become.

"Just hurry up and get me to the room please." She whispered, in the dark she felt like speaking normally want allowed. Kuroo removed her hand from his arm and instead grasped it in his own and led her to the rooms. He was surprised at how cold her hands were but all Yui could think about was how she prayed her hands wouldn't clam up.

Although still terrified, the reminder of Kuroo's presence next to her acted as a comfort and a distraction and before she knew it they arrived at the girls door. Noticing they were still holding hands, Yui slipped her hand away and onto the door handle.

"Thank you for waking my back Kuroo-san, even though your still a meanie, it was very kind of you." He chuckled at her remark and ruffled her hair once again.

"Anytime shorty." He turned away before Yui could give him another flick or maybe a kick this time. Quietly she slipped through the door glad to see that no one had fallen asleep yet and that she hadn't disturbed anyone. The exhaustion finally hit Yui as she struggle to change into her pyjamas and wash up. Settling with cleaning her face with a makeup wipe and brushing her teeth, she unrolled her futon and snuggling under the sheet. It didn't take long for Yui to fall sound asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

Yui had woken up with the rest of the managers, deciding that since she wasn't playing she'd help them out with making breakfast. She regretted her choice to not have a shower the night before so allowed her self a little extra time to clean herself. It was still fairly early when all the girls headed to the kitchen, only just turning 7am.

Yui found that the girls were all easy to get along with. They told her stories of their difficult team members and even started to rank the boys in who was most attractive.

"I know Bokuto can be a lot to handle sometimes but he is quite hot." Miyanoshita, Ubigawa's manager commented as she cooked the eggs. The two Fukurōdani managers gave her a bewildered look before jumping into why Bokuto was more than just a bit to handle.

"One time he went into his emo mode because Akaashi only high-fived him with one hand instead of two!" Suzumeda cried out, her fellow manager nodding.

"And it was during qualifiers." Shirofuku seemed to relive the stress of that day as she sighed and scrubbed one of the pots. The other girls laughed, picturing the ace pouting bc he didn't get his high-five.

"Talking about cute captains, Yui was it Kuroo I heard talking to you outside the door last night." Shirofuku wiggled her eyebrows and the rest of the girls turned to listen. They had all heard the conversation last night and were eager to know the full story. The second year lit up crimson and tried to explain that it wasn't like that and he was just being friendly.

"Sure, sure whatever you say shorty." Shirofuku teased her using the little nickname Kuroo had the night before. All the girls busted out in to laughs as Yui tried to smack the girl for teasing her. It was already an eventful morning.

~*~

Yui watched the matches diligently, making notes on formations and strategies the teams used. In her note book she had written each of her teammates and jotted down skills that would suit them or areas they needed to work on, herself included. Currently Nekoma and Karasuno had just started their third set of the weekend and Yui noticed the tension between Hinata and that tall Nekoma player who had almost hit her before. Lev had managed to block the freak quick early on in the match and it seemed to have thrown Hinata off his game, especially when he tried to steal Asahi's spike.

The two boys collided, Asahi managing to land on his feet but Hinata's back hit the floor, Yui guessed that he was probably winded. After some apologies, Hinata turned to Kageyama, his eyes burning bright with passion.

"I want to hit the freak quick with my eyes open, I want to control the ball." The entire team seemed shocked at Hinata's outburst that was quickly denied by the first year setter. Yui turned to speak to her cousin but he seemed lost in thought as he called a timeout. Once Coach Ukai had finished scolding Hinata, they went outside to catch their breath, Yui followed wanting to make sure Hinata wasn't upset. As she reached the doorway she stop and listened to Kageyama as he told Hinata that with his current skill set, he had no chance at pulling off a move like that.

Yui clenched her fist in anger, bitting her lip as both Sugawara and her cousin agreed with the setter. She didn't want to overstep her place, after all she'd only recently met them, but she couldn't help but feel they were denying progress. It didn't matter how good a move is because eventually someone beats it, to be a winning team you have to keep evolving. Takeda's early speech had encouraged the boys to learn knew moves from the others and here Hinata was, eager to improve himself, but being shut down. Yui also knew that Hinata still had massive amounts of work to do on his basic skill but still she couldn't help but sympathies with him, she knew better than anyone what it felt to be placed in a box.

Deciding she was too frustrated to watch anymore for the time being, Yui decided now would be the best time to call up Himari and see how her team were fairing without her.

The silver haired girl wondered out on to a patch of grass and sat down, the phone ringing in her ear. It took a while for Himari to pick up and judging from the loud noice in the background they were hard at work.

"Yui! How are you? How's the camp? Are there any cute boys? Made any friends?" Himari rambled on, listing off questions and not giving Yui anytime to answer them.

"Ya I can't answer your question if you keep talking." Yui put on her best captain voice, something she'd be working on since the girls had a habit of ignoring her. It seemed to work as Himari finally quietened down on the other side of the phone.

"They camps really good I've already got a bunch of ideas for some plays and hopefully I can ask the boys about some of their drills. And yes there are plenty of cute guys around which is why I'm glad you're not here with me, who knows what you'd get up to." Yui giggles at her friend cussing her out for being so rude about her habit of talking to a lot of boys. Before Himari could defend her self, a loud voice started yelling on her side. Yui could make out Himari saying that she hadn't got to talk properly before another voice spoke to Yui.

"Yui-chan I'm missing you~" Yui rolled eyes when she heard the sound of Oikawa trying to flirt with her, he still hadn't given up on that date.

"Shouldn't you be training with the boys Oikawa-san? Stop interrupting my girls training." She tried to keep her voice stern but she cracked a smile imagining the boy pouting at her words.

"We decided to train with you guys today but I didn't know you weren't going to be here. If I had known I would've got Seijoh invited to the little camp so I could be with you." Yui quickly dismisses his claims telling him the camp wouldn't allow someone as annoying as him in. A sharp whistle interrupted the twos banter and Oikawa said he had to hang up.

"Bye Oikawa-san I'll see you soon."

"Bye bye Yui-chan, love you!" The phone went dead after his words and left Yui staring at the phone in her hands. She knew he was only joking but why was her heart beating so fast? Yui dismissed her thoughts and put her behaviour down to her inexperience with the opposite sex and how she'd never been close to a relationship. Laying back into the grass, Yui let her mind drift away from boys and volleyball and found herself yawning. The sun warmed her skin just perfectly and the cool breeze meant she didn't get too hot and before she knew it she'd fallen asleep.

~*~

Yui awoke when she felt someone shaking her shoulders, a familiar voice calling her name telling her to wake up. When she opened her eyes she saw the two captains of Nekoma and Fukurōdani towering over her. Embarrassed that she'd been caught sleeping, Yui scrambled to her feet and brushed off any dirt that had stuck to her. The two boys laughed at the speed she shot up with from the grass and told her that they were serving lunch. Chatting away, the trio made their way to the cafeteria deciding to sit with some other third years from the school.

Yui tried to enjoy her time left with the boys as Karasuno, and therefore herself, would be leaving in a few hours. Of course the rest of the boys would reunite once schools broke up for summer for a longer camp but Yui wouldn't be joining them. She tried not to linger on those thoughts and laughed with the boys as they teased each other.

"Hey Yui-san you'll be coming to the next camp too won't you?" Bokuto had that grin he always wore as he asked her the question.

"Uh no sorry Bokuto-san, since I don't actually go to Karasuno I'll be spending my summer with my team." Yui tried to keep a smile but even in the couple of days she'd known the boys, they'd managed to weave their way into her heart. She'd never met anyone who could make her laugh like Bokuto could (except for maybe Himari) and Akaashi has given her some private lessons during their little practice yesterday, he was so kind and patient with her. Even Lev who'd teased her about her height managed to befriend her, the two joking that with their matching hair they must be long lost siblings with Sugawara.

But most of all, Yui was going to miss Kuroo. Although his teasing annoyed her to no end, especially his little nickname of shorty, he was so kind to her. She couldn't help but remember how he'd walked her to her room the night before, knowing that she was scared to walk alone. He didn't question why or make any comments about how childish she was, he just kept her calm.

"Well why can't your team join us?" The table have Bokuto a questioning look at his suggestion, there was no way that would happen.

"Don't get me wrong I would love to come back with my team but we're a girls team and we don't have any connections to the camp." Yui played with her rice and hoped they'd move onto a top is far more cheerful.

"Well that's not totally true," Kuroo spoke up, that glint in his eye that meant he'd had an idea. "I mean being a girl team doesn't mean that much, I'm sure you can handle yourselves." Bokuto nodded vigorously whist Akaashi and the Karasuno third years hummed in agreement.

"And you do have connections," he smirked at Yui face of confusion, "all of us plus Coach Nekomata right?" Yui couldn't help but match the Nekoma players grin as she stood up. Feeling empowered, Yui ignored the tables questions as she made a b-line to the coaches table. Hoping her confidence wouldn't diminish and gaining courage knowing her cousin would suppor her, she tapped politely on Nekomata's shoulder.

"Coach Nekomata I know it's sudden and the chances are slim but I wanted to ask if it was possible for the Aobajohsai girls volleyball team to join in the summer training camp." She flung her self into a deep bow, her hair covering her face as she waited for a response.

"Yui please do not misunderstand," Yui raised her head to meet the coaches eyes, "the camp is for the boys volleyball teams, it wouldn't be useful to your team or the boys team to play each other." Yui couldn't understand. She knew that physical the boys played with taller nets and they had an edge on height and power but that didn't mean they couldn't learn from each other. In fact Yui was the smallest person on her team, most of the players would be the same height as a lot of the boys, maybe not Lev or Kuroo but that didn't mean much. Hinata was proof that height was a barrier that could be overcome, Yui was as well. Feeling as though her pride as a woman and as Captain had been wounded, Yui clenched her fist and gave the old man a blazing stare.

"My girls are excellent players who work just as hard and are just as talented as any of the boys who play on these courts. Regardless of gender, teams learn from other teams from the way the attack or defend to strategies they use and to deny everyone the right to learn form each other seems ridiculous to me." The entire cafeteria was quiet but Yui wasn't ready to stop yet.

"The girls team of Aobajohsai had played toe to toe with the boys team, Karasuno can tell you just how good they are so I ask you again," Yui took a deep breath and bowed her head once more. "Please allow the Aobajohsai girls volleyball team to attend the summer training camp."

It felt like minutes of silence before she heard a clap from a corner of the room. Yui's head shot up to see Kuroo standing and being to clap, Bokuto joining him as well. Soon the entire room was filled with applause, some of the boys cheering loudly and the female managers looking like proud mothers.

"You really are a Ukai at heart aren't you kiddo?" Yui grinned at Coach Nekomata's statement as he cleared his throat.

"Does anyone have an issue with a new team being added." The noise stopped and the boys waited in silence, they were all thirsty for the knowledge to play better regardless of who they learned from. Plus, a few more girls wouldn't hurt.

"Well then kiddo looks like you have yourself a deal." Once again, cheers erupted and Keishin stood up to give his favourite cousin a firm slap on the back. He felt proud that she'd been able to stand up for herself and that he didn't need to always come to her rescue.

"Good job Yui, if Jiisan was hear I bet he would've welled up a bit. You've grown up a lot." Yui scoffed at Keishin's unusual kind words and punched his arm not knowing how to deal with her cousin when he was being nice. Yui thanked coach Nekomata for agree and ran back to her table. 

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Yui ran and jumped into Bokuto's arms, engulfing him into a hug before she gave Akaashi a quick high five knowing he wasn't really one for hugs. Moving on to embrace Daichi, Asahi and Sugawara, she lamented how happy she was that they'd all stood up for her.

"What about my hug? I was the first to applaud." Kuroo had his arms open wide in waiting for the silver haired girl. Feeling too overjoyed to care much about being embarrassed, she wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed herself into his chest.

Immediately, his arms locked her in place and he easily rested his chin on the top of her head. Yui let herself appreciate how warm he was and how he smelt like adventures on a summer night and sweat. She whispered just loud enough for only him to hear.

"Thank you Kuroo, not just for this but for last night too." He hugged her tighter in response, her words so sincere. Finally they pulled apart. Yui went to thank literally everyone else from the main teams to the substitutes to the managers to the coaches. She also made sure to give coach Nekomata the details of their teams coach so they could organise everything. Deciding to leave it as a surprise for her team, she refrained from texting the group chat with the good news.

After all that excitement, Keishin announced that Karasuno would be leaving in a few minutes since they needed to get back before it go too dark. Yui ran to quickly pack up her duffle bag and bring it back to the bus which was already waiting for them. The entire Nekoma team were chatting with Karasuno as well as Bokuto and Akaashi.

Jumping up onto Lev's back, who was taunting Hinata about his height, Yui gave him a harsh tug on his ear.

"When I come back you better have learnt some manner Levy." Yui slide down back to the floor and wagged her finger in the boys face. Ignore her words he just patted her head condescendingly and wished her goodbye and maybe she'd have grown too. Scowling, Yui skipped over to Kuroo, Bokuto and Akaashi and said her goodbyes.

"It was nice meeting you Yui-san, I hope we can practise more next time." Akaashi had a small smile on his face that reminded her of Iwaizumi, actually Yui realised they looked scarily similar.

"You too Akaashi-san."

Always the energetic one, Bokuto lifted Yui up and spun her around telling her how he's missing her already and he couldn't wait to see how her team plays. Yui laughed as she told him to put her down, explaining that she'd see them in a week. The Karasuno boys had already begun to step onto the bus and Yui knew it was finally time to leave.

She had to get on her tiptoes to wrap her arms around Kuroo's neck but she just about managed before he lifted her up by her waist.

"See you soon shorty, I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too kitty cat."

The two parted as Coach Ukai yelled at Kuroo to let go of his baby cousin causing Yui to sprint up the steps of the bus and take her seat next to Asahi. Unfortunately she was on the wrong side to give one final wave goodbye so she preoccupied herself with texts from her team. Yui was already excited to go back.


	7. Chapter 7

Keishin and Yui stayed behind once the bus arrived back at Karasuno, giving the bus one last check to make sure no one had left anything behind. Yui was about to give the all clear when she spotted something sticking out between two of the seats. A phone. Yui checked the lock screen to see was a picture of Tanaka mid spike, still in the air with a grin of his face. The girl told her cousin she'd try and catch him since he hadn't been gone long and was probably still close by. Unfortunately, Yui didn't know the school at all and found her self unsure of where she was. Never one good with directions, she thought it was probably best to just go back to her cousin and let him return the phone tomorrow so she made her way around one of the gyms.

As she wondered near the door she heard a commotion, two voices shouting at each other mixed in with the sound of grunting and loud bangs. Realising that the two people, she know recognised as Hinata and Kageyama, she flung her self through the door.

The two boys were at each others throats. Currently Kageyama was clutching Hinata's shirt by his collar before the shorter boy kneed him in the stomach. Hinata had blood running from the edge of his lip and grazes on his elbows definitely looking worse of then Kageyama who only had a graze on his cheek. Yui didn't know what to do. Standing completely still she tried to call out to them asking them to calm down but they either didn't hear her or chose to ignore her. Deciding that she wasn't going to be able to physically be able to break up the fight she went to go and find any of the boys.

Before she could even turn around, Tanaka came flying in and landed a solid punch on the two boys heads. Yachi came in after him panting heavily and sweating, looking relieved that the fight had been broken up.

"How dare you fight infront of girls, especially Yui-san whose from another school!" Tanaka hit them both again as he continued to scold them. Yui noticed that the injured boys wouldn't even look at each other, rage still flaming in their eyes. Walking over, Yui pulled Kageyama away worrying that if they were too close the fighting would start again. Plus she wanted to make sure neither of them were hurt.

"Yachi-san, Tanaka-san could you patch up Hinata whilst I clean up Kageyama's cut?" The two she'd addressed nodded and Yui turned to bring Kageyama out onto the steps leading to the gym.

"Wait here whilst I get the first aid kit." Yui took his silence as a yes before she went back inside and grabbed some plasters and some anti-bacterial wipes to clean him up with. Remembering that she still had Tanaka's phone, she handed it to him telling him she'd added her number to his contacts since he didn't have a password on his phone. As she walked away she heard him mutter to himself.

"Whoa I've got a girl number!" Yui suppressed her laugh as she saw him worshiping his phone. When she got back outside Kageyama was just as she left him, a scowl on his face staring at the floor. The two didn't speak as she clean some of the cuts and placed plasters on them, the only sound was Kageyama's hissing when Yui pressed a bit too hard on a bruise or at the stinging of a graze she was cleaning.

"You know Kageyama I understand how frustrating it is for Hinata to be asking to change the attack so close the qualifiers." All of his cuts were bandaged up and everyone else had left, Tanaka locking up behind them but Kageyama and Yui stayed seated on the cold stone steps.

"It makes you feel like your set isn't good enough, why does he want to change a perfectly good attack, right?" His eyes looked black as he stared back at her, she could see how he didn't want to talk to her.

"Did you know that I've played as setter since I was nine?" She didn't wait for a response, looking out at the clear night sky she rambled on.

"I always thought I was the best, I worked so hard and when I was in my first year I didn't make the starting line up. I understood why, the captain was the setter and she had a lot more experience than me so I didn't mind, I still got to play a few games when she got too tired. So when we got into my second year I was so excited to play, set for my team and win, you must know the feeling?" The boy nodded indicating that he had been listening though he didn't actually seem to be paying much interest, preferring to look at his hands.

"But the new captain decided that I was too short to set and that I could only play Libero." Finally he looked at her, hearing the crack in her voice. Kageyama didn't know what he'd do if he couldn't play as setter, it was once thing to be on the bench but another to not play your position at all. The boy recalled when he first entered the club and how Daichi had threatened him with not being allowed to play his position, it was the worst thing he'd could imagine.

"I felt like it was my fault, that I wasn't good enough in my position so I tried my best to become the best Libero I could instead. But I'd find myself desperate to set, I'd tried to convince the captain the let me set from the back but she said no. It's only now that she'd left that I get to play properly again." Kageyama thought that whoever Yui's captain used to be was idiotic. Denying your teammates to introduce new play styles just didn't make sense.

"For Hinata it's the same I imagine." Yui turned to face Kageyama and rested her hands in her lap.

"He feels like he's not good enough even with the quick. That attack relies entirely on your skills as a setter and him having faith in you. Hinata doesn't get to fight for the point when he's in the air, that's the best bit of spiking. Knowing that it was you who got the point and you who the crowd are cheering for." Yui made a move to grab both of Kageyama's hands, surprised at how well cared for they were.

"Please al least try to accommodate for him, your secure on the team but Hinata is still fighting for his place." Yui didn't know why she was so desperate for the two to work together. Maybe it was because it was her cousin's team and she knew how much he wanted them to win, or maybe it was just wanting to see them play at their best ability, Yui didn't know. She did feel a bit guilty trying to help a team from a different school but she felt like this was beyond rivalries. Yui couldn't help but want to see just how great the freak duo could be.

Kageyama only grunted in response but for Yui she thought that was good enough. Releasing his hands she stood up and brushed off any dirt the had clung to her. Kageyama mirrored her actions, the boy noticing just how short she really was compared to him.

"Come on let's get you home, I'll walk you." Yui gestured for Kageyama to lead the way but he didn't move and shook his head.

"I'm okay I don't live too far." Yui thought it was the most he'd ever said to her.

"But I'm you're senpai I can't let you walk home alone especially because you're injured, plus I must've bored you with all nagging." Kageyama was about to feline her offer again but when he looked into her forest green eyes he saw such stubbornness that he decided to just let her.

As they walked, Yui did most of the talking, just light small talk to keep the mood light. The closer the got to his house the more he started to talk, especially when Yui claimed that most milk was gross to drink on its own.

"You're wrong Yui-san, milk is the number one drink ever." Yui was slightly worried that his glare was real but his lips had curved up into a small smile as they argued.

"Strawberry milk is the only acceptable milk, I'm sorry to tell you this but my way is the only way." It seemed that after volleyball, milk was Kageyama's true passion. As the two debated they quickly arrived at his house.

"Goodnight Kageyama-san, make sure you get a good rest!" Yui waved as she walked away, happy that she'd managed to get closer to the serious boy. She'd even given him her number as well, telling him that they could learn a lot from each other (well Yui would mostly learn from him, he was a prodigy after all).

~*~  
Yui's leg bounced in excitement as Saito-Sensei, the teacher who ran the girls volleyball team, announced that she had news. Immediately the girls rushed over and sat them selves on the floor eager to know more.

"I was contacted just recently by Coach Nekomata of Nekoma High School about an up and coming training camp that he'd like us to attend." The teacher was barely able to finish her sentence before cheers erupted. Yui grinned at her team's reaction, glad that she'd managed to do something as captain.

"Calm down I haven't finished!" Saito-Sensei was known for being unable to control a classroom so none of the girls payed much mind to her. That was until Yui produced a loud whistle that immediately silenced them.

"As I was trying to say, the training camp is held for a week in Tokyo and we'll be the only female team attending." This only seemed to fire up the girls more as they began to talk about how cute volleyball players were. Saito-Sensei allowed the girls to chatter as she handed out permission slips that had to be handed in tomorrow.

"I'm gonna show all the boys how to really play!" Ichika yelled as she jumped to her feet waving her slip of paper. The team laughed at her outburst but were all feeling the same, just because they were girls didn't mean they couldn't win.

"Now this trip is all thanks to your captain working some magic when she was in Tokyo a few days ago so you should all be thanking her." Cries of thanks as well as a bombardment of hugs was the response to hearing of their captains achievement. Once the team had calmed down again they went back to practise.

Yui noticed that Yuki, the teams defence specialist was more quiet then she usually is and walked over to check on her. They first year was quite a bit taller than Yui but tended to slouch so it wasn't that noticeable.

"Hey Yuki is everything okay?" Yui rested a hand on the taller girls shoulder noticing how she kept staring at the floor.

"Yes I'm fine it's just that I'm not sure I should go to the camp." Yui was taken aback by the girls words wondering what she meant.

"Why do you say that?"

"Well I'm not very good and I know I'll just embarrass myself infront of all the boys. And I mean I'll just bring the team down even more." The girl fiddled with her fingers, picking off the blue nail polish that was there.

"Yuki you know that's not true at all." Yuki just let out a long sigh.

"Look Yuki I would not have you playing starting line if I didn't think you were a good player. Your plays are always consistent and you know how to keep the team together, you're basically the backbone of the team. All the girls on the team know how great of a player you are and it's about time you realise it too." Yui's voice was gentle but stern as she spoke, driving her points. Yuki blushes at the kind words of her senior and gave her a small smile.

"I guess your right." Her voice was barely above a whisper as she spoke but Yui heard. Glad that the girl was feeling a bit more confident in herself, they returned to practise. The team seemed even more pumped then usual, everyone staying behind an extra hour to play more.

It was extra hour that meant Yui was late for her shift a work. Her team had told her to leave as they packed up the gym so she was able to get there reasonably quickly. Her grandmother scolded her for her tardiness but let her take her place at the till.

It was a quiet afternoon and only a few customers came in which allowed Yui to get a start on some of her homework she'd neglected doing. Yui wanted her cousin to come back soon because she wanted to go and see her grandpa who'd just come out of hospital but she'd received a text saying he was going to be later.

The bell rang signalling a customer so Yui closed her notebook and put on her best customer service smile. Through the door came Oikawa holding a younger boys hand, the two of them arguing about something Yui guessed that the boy was probably his younger brother. Oikawa didn't notice that Yui was stood behind the counter so she yelled out a greeting.

"Oikawa-san what brings you down these parts?" His head shot up in surprise at her voice but when he met her eyes he only scowled. Yui was confused at why he didn't greet her back and wondered if she had done anything wrong. But nothing came to mind, she hadn't seen him since before the camp and he seemed fine when he had been on the phone.

Deciding that she didn't like being ignored by Oikawa, she got up and followed him to the isle with all of the snacks. He have her a quick glance before huffing and turning his head and walking in the other direction, dragging his companion with him.

"Oikawa stop ignoring me!" Yui didn't think it would bother her that much, him ignoring her, but she'd gotten used to him constantly pestering her. Still he ignored her. Having enough of his attitude, Yui grabbed his shoulders and turned him around.

"What's wrong with you Oikawa? Have I done something?" Yui was genuinely worried she'd upset him. As much as she pretended to dislike him, she considered him a friends and hated the thought that she'd hurt his feelings. 

"His girlfriend broke up with him." The younger boy answered, grinning a little bit at his uncle's misfortune. Yui frowned not even realising that Oikawa had a girlfriend. It wasn't as if it was unbelievable, but he'd always struck her as not the dating type. Yui was about to attempt to comfort him but Oikawa exploded before she could.

"Yah that's not it! My dating life is just fine Takeru! I'm upset because Yui-chan has been fraternising with the enemy. I'm having a wonderful time watching Tobio-chan begging for my help and then he gets a message from none other than Yui-chan. As if that wasn't bad enough, her name had a heart by it and Tobio-chan blushed when he saw it." Yui wasn't sure that he even breathed through the his outburst and Takeru thought his uncle had finally lost it.

"How could you do this to me Yui-chan, I feel so betrayed."

"Um I don't... I don't really know what you're talking about." Oikawa's explanation didn't clear much up for Yui. She didn't think she knew a Tobio, the name did seem familiar. Finally the name clicked.

"Oh you mean Kageyama-kun, what's he got to do with anything?" Oikawa groaned when he heard Yui calling his number one enemy Kun. Yui didn't even realise the two boys knew each other, she could only guess it was because they had played against each other. Yui had been messaging Kageyama quite a bit as well as Tanaka, they often spoke about the upcoming camp as well as matches they'd seen on the TV.

"Please don't tell me you and Tobio-chan are dating." Oikawa desperately grabbed onto Yui's shoulders and bent down to her eye level. He was always so dramatic.

"Uh no, I helped out at a training camp Karasuno went to and we've just been talking about the next one coming up." Yui blushes at how close their faces were and tried to look away from his intense gaze. She wondered why he was so weird.

"Oh thank god, well since your single how about we go out for dinner." Oikawa seemed to go back to his usual self in seconds as he gave Yui one of his killer smiles. Takeru and Yui shared a look, both questioning Oikawa's sanity.

"I'm okay plus I'm working." Oikawa seemed to change once again into his depressive episode.

"You like me more than him right?" Yui was about to joke back but saw that despite his fake pout, his eyes were serious. Yui didn't know what was going on between Kageyama and Oikawa but the latter seemed genuinely desperate for Yui to prefer him.

"Well you are my Senpai and you've helped me a lot..." Yui played into her seniors large ego and felt relieved at how he perked up at her words. Noticing that another customer had walked in, Yui returned to the till and waited for someone to come and pay.

Oikawa and Takeru places down some snacks and Takeru chatted about how good he was at volleyball. Yui played along and even have to boy a couple lollipops as a free gift.

"Here you go, a little something for putting up with your Uncle." Takeru thanks Yui and laughed at Oikawa's deadpan face.

"If Takeru gets something then so do I!" Yui moves to get Oikawa a lollipop too but he stops her, grabbing her wrist.

"Nope I don't want a lollipop, I want your number." Yui was about to reject him, she already had Oikawa bothering her at school, she didn't want him to be able to contact her all hours.

"Pretty please, you have Tobio-chan your number and since you prefer me it's only fair that I have it too." Yui sighed but grabbed a page out of her note book and wrote down her number, Oikawa grinning like a child as he watched. She passed him over the paper before ushering him to leave, Yui was mentally exhausted from dealing with him.

"Bye Yui-chan~ I'll see you at our practise." The setter called out over his shoulder as he left the store. Yui just sighed and got back to her homework waiting for Keishin to finally get back to his shift.

~*~

Yui was in the girls gym waiting for Oikawa to come and join her. She was a sweaty mess after already practising late with her team and didn't really feel up to more practise. Lately she seemed to never stop and was tempted to cancel on her senior. Currently she was laid out on the floor, water bottle lying next to her as she tried to catch her breath.

"Whoa Yui-chan you look really tired, are you sure you're up for practice?" Oikawa walked in, his bag slung over his shoulder and his usually perfect hair clinging to his forehead. Yui was too tired to answer and instead just grunted in acknowledgement of his presence. Noticing how the girl had no intention of moving, he joined her on the floor. They laid there in silence, both staring at the ceiling for a few minutes until Yui decided to finally speak.

"How are you doing Oikawa-san, you know with your break up and all?" Yui was curious by nature and couldn't help but want to know all the details. Actually she was hoping to find the girl and congratulate her on coming to her senses.

"I'm not that bothered, is it bad if I tell you that I didn't like her that much?" Typical Oikawa.

"Yes it is bad you idiot," Yui flung her arm that was on her chest over to hit Oikawa's shoulder, "you shouldn't date someone if you don't like them." Yui had always been a bit naive when in came to relationships, she didn't understand how people could cheat, lie or use their partners.

"I know that! It's not like I didn't like her at all, she was really pretty and smart but she just wanted me to be with her all the time. Like anytime I would practise she'd complain about it." He whined as her turned over to his side to look at Yui.

"I mean didn't she realise that you're captain of the team, a lot of practise is a guarantee. Plus you're in your last year so you've got all your collage prep too so she shouldn't have expected you to be spending every minute with her." Yui didn't look at Oikawa as she spoke.

"Maybe next time you date a girl go for one that is equally as passionate about something in the same way you are about volleyball." Yui finally began to stand up, Oikawa mirroring her actions.

"I think I'll do just that." Oikawa had a soft smile of his face as he gazed down an Yui, her cheeks still flushed from all her training. Feeling proud that she'd given some good advice she turned away and began to take down the net.

"I don't know about you but I'm way too tired to practise anymore." Oikawa laughed and nodded, moving to help the girl who was struggling the reach the top of the net.

"How about you start cleaning the floor." Yui did just that, annoyed that her height meant that she couldn't even take down a net. Yui waited for Oikawa to finish clearing the net and the two locked up the gym together.

"Let me walk you home, it's getting dark out." Yui was too tired to argue with him and nodded about to place her bag on her shoulder. Oikawa quickly snatched it out of her hand and carried it with his own.

"A true gentleman never lets a lady carry her bag." Oikawa seemed proud at his actions but Yui only jumped to flick his forehead.

"You are anything but a gentleman." She joked as they walked through the streets to her house. Less than three minutes in Oikawa complained about how heaving her bag was so she took it back and rolled her eyes at his dramatics. Yui thought he'd make a good actor.

Yui was about to tell him just that but his arm came over to rest in her shoulder, pressing her into his side. Yui looked up to see Oikawa's classic playboy smile on his lips that made her want to run all the way home. Unfortunately Oikawa's grip was tight and she had to stay in his grasp.

"You really do have something wrong with you Trashykawa." Oikawa only burst out into laughter in response, pulling her closer as they walked. Yui didn't mind it after a few minutes, actually he was keeping her warm. She hadn't bought a jacket with her and the night had gotten chilly. Unconsciously, Yui found herself wrapping her arm around Oikawa's waist and relishing in his body heat.

That same soft smile graced Oikawa's face as he looked down at Yui. He couldn't deny how cute she looked tucked under his arm, her hair messy from exercise and warm green eyes sparking from the streetlights. They walked in comfortable silence until Yui announced that they'd arrived at her house.

"Thank you for walking me Oikawa." The two faced each other to say goodbye.

"Anything for you Yui-chan~" Oikawa's hand tucked a stray hair behind her ear, his touch lingering for a second too long. Yui wasn't sure what to do. Her heart hammered in her chest as she gazed into those soft brown eyes. Slowly Oikawa bent down to her height, their faces inches apart as Yui inhaled sharply and closed her eyes tightly.

A soft kiss was pressed gently against her cheek, so delicate Yui wasn't sure it had even happen. Her eyes shot open and Oikawa was standing up straight, hands in pockets, with that smug look in his face.

"Sleep well cutie." He didn't wait for a response as he turned on his heel and walk back along the street they'd walked up together. Yui couldn't move, her thought racing through her head faster than she could process. Lost in her thoughts, she unlocked her front door and made her way up to her room. She didn't bother to take off her sweaty clothes before she jumped face first onto her bed.

Grabbing a pillow she smashed her face and screamed. Her body wildly thrashed as she let out her frustration and confusion before she suddenly sat up, perfectly fine. Yui grabbed her phone from her bag and wildly texted the second year group chat asking for a translation of Oikawa's behaviour.   
Immediately her phone buzzed back with responses asking for more detail.

Yui spent the rest of her night frantically responding to the girls.


	8. Chapter 8

It had been a couple of days since Yui had last seen Oikawa and if she was being truthful she was quite glad. It wasn't that she didn't like him, after all the setter is a good friend, but she just didn't know how to handle the situation. Yui had never found herself on the dating scene, she had a habit of liking boys who she had never had a conversation with, so Oikawa's sudden affection was unknown territory. If it was a normal boy she'd probably assume that meant he liked her. Oikawa Tooru was not a normal boy.

It was fact that he was a huge flirt and wasn't shy about his affections. Yui knew that he'd dated his fair share of girls and would take his fan girls out on dates. So her issue was that she had no idea if the kiss, however innocent it was, meant that he liked her or if he was just being flirty Oikawa.

The girls volleyball team were having an internal debate over the matter too. Most of the first years were adamant that he was essentially proposing whilst the second years who knew just how much of a serial dater Oikawa is we're hesitant to get Yui's hopes up. Akemi was especially wary about the third year. Her older sister had had her heartbroken by Oikawa in her first year of Highschool.

Akemi didn't necessarily dislike the boy, they at least had volleyball in common, but she was hyper aware of the fact that he broke her older sisters heart. The story was one quite typical of Oikawa's girlfriends; they dated for a few months after he accepted their confession then he'd break up with them. There never seemed to be an obvious reason for the breakup. There wasn't any cheating or constant arguments or lack of interest, the relationship always looked perfect. Oikawa would take his girlfriends to cute cafes after his practise and they'd take dat trips to Tokyo then they'd split. Akemi's sister had cried for weeks in the aftermath and Akemi didn't want to see Yui in the same state.

But Yui had another issue. She wasn't even sure if she like Oikawa. She wouldn't deny how attractive he was, even after months of knowing him she'd catch herself staring at just how soft his hair looked or how great he smelled. In addition, they both loved volleyball and she had fun whenever she was with him, his constant flirty and whining was actually a bit endearing. But Yui still felt like he was putting up this act, that he wasn't being himself around her and she just found that so off putting. She saw it in the way he would smile at school, so bright and cheery but his eyes looked so black. She saw it in the way he kept his voice soft and patient with his fans even when they made him late to class or wouldn't leave him alone. She saw it when he would laugh and joke around his team even when he was performing badly and she could see just how frustrated he was.

But with the Inter High Preliminaries in three weeks, Yui found herself too absorbed in training to think about the boy. Yui and the other second years were playing 2 vs 2 as the first years were out on a school trip to Tokyo but they found themselves more interested in just catching up with each other.

Akemi was telling the girls about a girl she was talking to, gushing over how attractive she was and how they were planning a date once the Preliminaries were over. Deciding that Akemi's blossoming love life was more interesting then the game, they moved to sit in a small circle together. Yui was busy on her phone talking to her sister when Tanaka sent her a message.

"Hey guys would it be okay if two of the Karasuno boys came and practiced with us" No one had any complaints so Yui texted the boy back and told them the gym they were practicing in.

"Are you sure they should come here? I mean what if Oikawa walks in or something?" Amaya asked the group as they began to stretch out again before the Karasuno boys arrived.

"Come on Amaya what are the chances that the boys decided to drop by?" Yui hadn't even thought about any of the boys team coming in. But she was fairly sure that they would be too busy themselves to come by and play a practice match, especially if they didn't have any first years with them.

As the girls were continuing with their mini match there was a knock at the open door of the gym. Standing in the doorway was Tanaka and a small redhead peeking out from behind his elder. Yui ushered them in and quickly introduced everyone. Tanaka seemed spaced out as his gaze moved from each of the girls, a light blush on his cheeks.

"Come on Tanaka your with me and Akemi." Himari slapped the bald boy on the back as she skipped over to her side of the net. Yui thought it was slightly unfair that her and Hinata were on the same team since they were both the smallest but she was excited to set for the boy.

It only took three points before the two boys relaxed. Tanaka's previous shyness had vanished and his yelling matched perfectly with Himari's. Similarly Hinata was practically glowing with each spike he landed, Yui thought he was adorable. Currently Himari, Tanaka and Amaya were in the lead by two points. Yui was about to take her serve when she heard an extremely distinctive voice.

"Shit! Tanaka, Hinata hide!" Yui tried to keep her voice down as she ushered the boys behind the stands as Iwaizumi and Oikawa walked into the gym. Yui tried to ignore them and took her serve, smashing is to the back left corner of the court.

"Wow Yui-chan you're almost as good as me." Oikawa strutted over to the girl, typical smirk on his face and his hair matted down with sweat, he must have been training too. Amaya tried to hide her blush as Iwaizumi walked over to great her whilst Yui was praying that the two Karasuno boys wouldn't be found. Yui was going to respond when she heard a not so quiet whisper from behind the bleachers.

"Whoa it's the great king." Yui glances over and saw a tuft of of orange and silently cursed under head breath. Oikawa was now infront of Yui and began to look over her shoulder at the noise. Panicking, Yui wrapped her arms around the setters neck and spun him around so his back was to the hiding boys.

"W-wow it's so great to see you senpai." Himari tried her best not to snicker at Yui's attempt at distracting Oikawa. The third year's arms seemed to automatically wrap themselves around Yui's waist as he gazed down at her in confusion.

"Now what are you hiding Yui-chan, it's not like you to call me sanpai," he bought a hand up and poked her nose, " or to greet me like this." Yui's face was already bright red and she was worried she might pass out from embarrassment. She kept asking herself what on earth she was doing.

"I'm not hiding anything. Nope nothing at all." Her words rushed out, clearly indicating that she was lying. Yui swatted her hand in the direction of Tanaka and Hinata trying to tell them to hide better as Oikawa looked at her with disbelief.

"Whatever you say Yui-chan, I don't care what you're hiding as long as you keep hugging me." His grip tightened around her waist as he lifted Yui off the ground and spun her. Yui couldn't help the squeal that left her lips and she slapped Oikawa's back and begged him to put her down.

"Wow I forget how insufferable you are." Yui puffed out her cheeks and she tried to escape Oikawa's grip. Unfortunately for her he didn't remove his hands from her waist. Yui was suddenly hyperaware of how warm his hands were and how his thumbs began to massage small circles into her skin.

"Iwaizumi-senpai save me please." She called out to Oikawa's best friend who was watching the two alongside the other second years, all of them wearing smirks of amusement. Himari sent a wink over to her best friend, silently teasing her for her position with the Captain of the boys team.

"Ya Trashykawa let her go, you need to stop being such a shameless flirt." Surprisingly Oikawa followed the instruction, knowing if he didn't his friend might resort to violence. Yui made sure to move out of Oikawa's arm reach.

"So what brings you down to our court." Himari asked the boys whilst tightening her short ponytail.

"Shittykawa wanted to ask Yui on a date, I thought we could all go out for lunch." It was times like this when Yui wondered why Iwaizumi wasn't the captain, he was so much more mature then Oikawa.

"Hey Iwa-chan you ruined the surprise." Whined Oikawa as he pouted at his friend.

"Well the answers still a no, I've got to work a shift in half an hour." Yui shrugged her shoulders as she moved to pick up the ball they'd been playing with. "But you guys should go ahead, I'll clean up, I need to do check all the equipment anyway."

Oikawa was going to protest but Akemi clocked onto the real reason for Yui wanted to stay behind. The blonde girl began to usher everyone out of the gym and sent an aspirated look to Yui, Akemi didn't really want to have to suffer through a lunch sigh Oikawa. Yui mouthed a thank you silently as she waved everyone out the door and closed it behind them. As soon as Oikawa and Iwaizumi were no longer in sight, Yui let out a sigh of relief and relaxed her shoulders.

"Yui-chan I didn't realise you were dating the great king!" Hinata yelled as he came out from behind the bleachers, Tanaka looking eager to hear her response.

"Oh my god no!" Yui waved her hands to reinforce her point desperately trying to get a grip on her racing heart. Why did the thought of dating Oikawa make her so flustered?

"Seemed pretty friendly to me." Tanaka teased earning him a slap upside his shaved head. The three continued to bicker about the subject as they cleaned up before walking out to the gates at the front of the school.

"Thank you Yui-san for letting us train with you, you're sets are amazing." Hinata bowed, his soft eyes sparkling as he thanked the older girl.

"Yeah thank you Yui, it was really kind of you." Tanaka added on. Yui brushed off their thanks, telling them in wasn't a problem.

"Well I wasn't lying about having a work shift, my grandpa wants me to help out with some of the kids." Yui wasn't too worried about being late since she was well aware of the soft spot her gramps had for her, unlike her older cousin.

"Oh that's right, old Coach Ukai's your grandpa right?" Hinata asked, Yui nodding in response.

"Well I was heading over anyway if you want a lift on my bike?" Yui tried her best not to gush at just how sweet Hinata was and instead nodded her head in agreement, thanking him for the offer.

"Well then Tanaka, I'll see you at the training camp." Yui pulled the boy into a quick hug before waving goodbye as she hopped on the back of Hinata's bike.

As they set off Yui was taken back by how quick Hinata was going with the extra weight. Then she remembered just how high the boy could jump, strong legs were a given in volleyball. Yui didn't speak as she enjoyed the wind blowing through her hair and admired the streets that the rode on. It didn't take long for them to arrive at the little volleyball club house that was nestled in the fields. Yui has always loved this place, it was where she had fallen in love with volleyball.

Yui had fond memories of watching Keishin teacher her older brother when she was too young to play with them. How her grandpa would cheer her on when she managed to receive a ball well. In the summer, when they'd finished working the fields, all of them would gather on the court to play a game. It didn't matter that Yui was small enough to walk under the net without bending or that her grandpa was getting old, they would all play, regardless of skill.

Yui had yet to visit her grandpa since he'd come back from the hospital. She felt guilty but with her job as captain and school and work she just found herself without the time. That was why when Hinata pulled the bike to a stop she leapt off and rushed into the court. Yui didn't care that she'd interrupted a class and instead made a b-line to her favourite relative.

"Grandpa!" The old man turned around with a large grin on his face, recognising Yui's excited voice anywhere, arms opening. Yui engulfed the man in a hug, she was so glad that he was okay. Hinata was running in after, complaining that she hadn't waited for him but he quieted down when he saw the original Coach Ukai.

"Sorry for interrupting the class gramps." The two pulled away and Yui gave a polite bow in apology to the class of kids. "I'm happy to lend a hand." The coach gently ruffled her hair and told her to help the kids with their receiving whilst he spoke to Hinata. Everyone was surprised that the coach who was famous for being terrifying was so calm and gentle with his grandchild, he certainly never showed Keishin the same treatment.

Yui spent the next few hours teaching the kids and laughing at Hinata trying out spikes with different timing. Deciding that she'd spent long enough playing volleyball for one day, she left Hinata who's love to play the game seemed unquenchable.

As the girl was walking home she made a quick stop at a corner store to grab herself a snack for the journey. Yui didn't pay much attention as she scanned the isle looking for some rice balls. Just as she spotted the last packet another hand reached out and snatched them. Yui's head shot up to see who stole her snack and was met by the infuriating smirk of Oikawa Tooru.

"Hey Yui-chan, fancy seeing you here." Instead of replying Yui went to snatch the food out of his hand but his reflexes were faster as he lifted the packet above his head. Yui decided to try one jump but found herself unable to get even close the her seniors hand. She cursed her short height.

"Now now Yui-chan you can't just snatch food out of you're senpai's hand." He scolded her but his eyes remained playful as he gazed down at her, he though she looked cute when she was annoyed.

"Please Oikawa," Yui pulled her lips into a small pout, " I haven't eaten anything since breakfast." Oikawa frowned down at the girl when she mentioned this, it was almost six in the evening.

"Yah Yui-chan you need to keep healthy, all that training you need to make sure you're eating enough." Yui watched as Oikawa picked up some more food and made his way over to the till, handing over the money and shoving the bag of goodies to Yui.

"What are you doing? I can't take your food." Yui attempted to give the bag back to her senior but he shook his head and grab her wrist, pulling her outside to one of the benches.

"I bought it for you Yui, you're over working yourself." Yui was surprised at how serious his tone was. He always seemed to be joking around, teasing people. The only time Yui saw him serious was when he was playing volleyball. Yui pulled out her rice ball as well as a milk bread roll and handed it to Oikawa.

"You need to take care of yourself too, you train even more then me." Oikawa wondered if Yui gave him the milk bread because she knew it was his favourite. The two sat in silence as the ate, the sun was still out thanks to the summer months. Yui decided that she much preferred Oikawa when he was by himself, he seemed much more real to her.

"So you gonna tell me what you were hiding earlier." Oikawa broke the silence, stifling a chuckle at Yui's face. She looked like a kid caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Yui tried her best to pull herself back to normal but she was never very good at lying.

"I already know you had that shortie from Karasuno in the gym, he's terrible at hiding." Yui groaned when she realised that the game was up.

"Tanaka was there too," she paused trying to gage her seniors emotion. "You're not mad are you?" Yui had turned her whole body to face Oikawa, her deep emerald eyes pleaded for forgiveness.

"I can't believe you would betray the school like that, the team. I thought we we're friends Yui-chan." Oikawa's face turned stone cold but his soft brown eyes glimmered with mischief. Yui didn't know what to do. She stumbled over her words, apologising and explained why the boys were there. Oikawa enjoyed just how flustered she was getting.

"I'm only teasing Yui-chan." He gave her that famous closed eyed smile that had all his fangirls falling over themselves.

"You're cruel Oikawa-san."

"Well I do have to admit I'm jealous that you want to practise with the crows when you know I'd help you." Oikawa poked Yui's cheek trying to get her attention.

"The great king jealous over little old me, I'm flattered." Yui jabbed right back as she got up to throw away her rubbish. When she retired to the table she grabbed her practise bag too.

"I'm gonna head home now, I need to pack for the training camp." Yui looked down at her still sitting friend, she quite liked being taller than him.

"I don't like the idea of you with all those boys." Oikawa scowled are his feet as he stood up. Yui swatted his arm in reply.

"Not even going to say goodbye before I go, you won't see me for a week." Yui cocked her head to the side.

"I'm walking you home, I don't need to say goodbye now." Oikawa made a move to take Yui's bag but she kept her grasp firm.

"I'm okay Oikawa, it's not far. Plus my mums home and she'd die if she caught a boy walking me home." Yui shuddered at the thought of her mother meeting Oikawa, she would not like the boy. Oikawa attempted to protest but Yui gave him a hard stare.

"I'm not going to see you for a week and you won't even let me walk you home. So mean Yui-chan." The boy whined.

"I'll see you soon Tōru." Yui didn't think much about using his first name as she turned and made her way down the street. Oikawa on the other hand found himself flushed. Why did his name sound so good when she said it?

"You'll be the death of me Yui-chan"


	9. Chapter 9

It was barely four in the morning and Yui made a mental note to herself to never be awake at this hour ever again. The Aoba Johsai girls volleyball team were all waiting by the school gates for Saito-sensei to bring the bus around. For once the girls were quiet, all of them too tired to bother chatting. Instead they were wrapped in their white tracksuits and sitting of their duffle bags.

Once the bus was pulled around to the front, Yui and Himari loaded the bags on whilst the other climbed aboard. The two didn't bother placing the bags carefully, instead chucking the duffles into the compartment as quickly as they could. The sooner they got on that bus, the sooner they could go back to sleep.

And sleep they did. Saito was the only person awake for the first three hours of the trip. After that they all seemed to wake up at once, mostly because Ichika couldn't keep her voice down. So as the girls neared Tokyo the bus was filled with laughter and shouts. Yui however found herself getting increasingly more nervous the closer they got to the camp.

She didn't doubt her teams ability, she knew just how much they'd improved over the last few months, but they would be playing against high level boys teams. The nets would be higher and the boys spikes and jumps higher and stronger then what they'd be used to. Plus it didn't help that the teams were incredible by their own right, Yui had no doubt that some of them would be playing at national level.

This daunting feeling was only made worse by the fact that Yui had begged to take part. She'd talked the talk and now she was worried that her team wouldn't be able to keep up. Sure the games against the Aobajohsai's boys team helped but the girls always found themselves loosing most of the time. So Yui spent her hours on the bus rereading her notes on the teams and forming strategies in her notebook, hoping that if she studied enough it would help them win a few games.

"Hey Yui stop trying to predict what each teams gonna do and relax a bit, it's only a training camp." Himari nudged her best friend with her shoulder. Yui always admired how calm Himari was about stressful things. Before matches or tests Himari never seemed bothered by the pressure, she claimed that when you got that close to a deadline or competition there was no more to do than do your best and thag worrying did nothing to help that.

"I know, I know but I'm worried that I'll make a complete arse of the whole team." Yui's mind was filled with images of bad sets and poor serves.

"Cmon now captain, you can't seriously be doubting yourself." Himari and Yui had been playing volleyball together since they were eight and Himari knew just how good of a player Yui was.

"Yui you've carried the team last year and this year too, if you'd have some half decent third years we probably could have won some matches last tournament. But now you've got a team of girls who work just as hard as you, who want to win just as much. With you leading us we won't have any problems showing those boys a thing or two." Yui flushed at the words of encouragement, never being able to handle compliments that well. A smirk graced her lips at the realisation at just how much her team believed in her.

"Well with an amazing ace like you by my side I have no doubts anymore." The two friends smiled at each other before turning to join in a conversation with some first years about the Japan Youth team.

~*~

The silence from the morning had completely disappeared as the girls team approached the training camp. Momoko and Ichika were arguing about a TV show they'd watched whist Nori and Himari were yelling at them to be quiet. The rest of the first years were discussing classmates whist Yui, Akemi and Amaya were talking about a rather disastrous confession a boy made to Akemi.

"Okay girls I'll drop you off here!" Saito called out as she parked the bus just infront of the Fukurōdani team that was waiting to show the girls around. Before they all left the bus Yui stood up and turned to address her team.

"Okay girls I want you to know that this is a training camp not a tournament so let's not get too caught up in keeping score. We've improved so much already and this is a perfect opportunity for us all to try out some of our new sets." Yui paused, her teams faced gleaming with excitement.

"That being said, I think we should show those boys a thing or two." The girls all cheered, banging on the seats. With her small speech over the girls vacated the bus, suddenly falling silent in the presence of the Fukurōdani team.

"Hey hey hey!" Bokuto called out, striding over to Yui to pull her into a hug. Yui laughed when she heard the ace's iconic line.

"It's good to see you too." Yui pulled away and sent a wave over to Akaashi who gave her a nod in return. With that the tension seemed to break as some of the boys made their way to help some of the girls with their bags.

"I'm glad you girls are finally here, I can't wait to start practise." Yui chuckled when she could see the fore burning in Bokuto's eyes as he led the girls towards their dorm. On the way to the dorms they past by the main gym, the patter of running feet and the slams of spikes indicating that teams were already warming up.

"So you're the famous Bokuto huh?" Himari swung her arm over Yui's shoulder and leaned over to send a smile over to Bokuto. Akaashi sighed when he realised this comment was only going to boost his friends ego.

"Oh has Yui mentioned me and my amazing volleyball skills?" The third year boasted, puffing out his chest.

"Actually if I recall it was more about the crazy hair." Yui muffled her giggle with her hand as they approached the dorm room door. Before Bokuto could start complaining Akaashi spoke up.

"We'll let you girls get settled, come down to the gym when you're ready." Akaashi didn't give Bokuto and chance to speak as he led him away along with the rest of his team.

The girls dumped their bags and set up the beds knowing that they'd be too tired when they finished practise. The girls chatted as they changed from their tracksuits into some practise clothes, the weather was far too hot for anything but shorts. They all changed into white tight T-shirt's and turquoise spandex whist Yui grabbed the bag of bibs. Akemi had grabbed the water bottles as well as they made their way to the gym.

Saito wasn't going for be staying with them until the weekend since she had to stay with her daughter so it meant all Coach and manger roles had to be picked up by the second years. Yui enjoyed the brief moment of the sun on her skin before they entered the bustling gym. The first years grew quiet as they entered, each of them attempting to hide behind their seniors. As they entered the gym slowly grew silent, the boys heads turning to see the Aobajohsai girls. Yui suddenly felt sick with all the attention on her but put on a smile and reminded herself that she knew a lot of the boys.

The first to greet them was her cousin and Coach Nekomata who explained the rotation of the games, their first opponent was Shinzen. Everyone had moved into their teams, the noise returning as each team planned for their games. Yui held the bibs that would mark who was playing.

"Okay since Saito Sensei isn't here I'll be making notes for the first couple matches so," Yui grabbed one of the turquoise bibs. "Momoko you'll be setting." The blonde first year grinned as she caught the bib Yui threw at her. Yui passed out more bibs to Himari and Amaya as well as Chiharu, Nori and Yuki.

"I'll be switching you guys out quite a lot so don't get too comfy, I want you to work hard." Each girl nodded before making their way either to the court or the bench. Yui grabbed a notebook and pen and waited for the game to start.

The girls were in good shape. They struggle the first few points, taking time to adjust to the net height. Luckily some of the taller players like Himari could keep up with the spikers heights. Yui took notes on each of the girls; areas they'd improved, things that were sloppy or poorly executed. By the end of the first set the Shinzen had won but only with a four point lead.

For the next set Yui moved to a more defensive play, telling the girls to focus on strong revives and blocks rather then rushing into attack. Yui knew that defence was an area that the team lacked. With so many first years a lot of them just didn't have the experience in game play to defend difficult attacks. In addition many of them had spent their time focusing only on spiking and ignoring many other skills.

However the girls managed to pull themselves into a strong front with Chiharu managing to one touch a majority of Shinzen's attacks. In the end they managed to pull it back and won 25-23. This win seemed to boost the teams energy even more. Shinzen didn't seem to happy to have lost against a girls team but the glares they sent over the net didn't phase the girls.

Despite the fact the girls lost the game overall, they were still buzzing from that one set. When they took the flying lap all of them had a grin on their face as the sweat ran down their backs. The girls lost again to Ubugawa but still managed to win a set. Yui made sure to remind them just how amazing it was that they'd managed to win a set a against the boys team.

Currently the teams were taking a short break before the next games. Yui had reported back her observations to the team and had begun to detail some ideas for personal training. Many of the other teams had mingled in this break but the girls found themselves too shy to break out just yet, especially when the other teams hadn't seemed too happy to play against them.

"Who are we playing next?" Yuki asked, her voice barely being heard over the chatter. Luckily Yui picked up the question.

"Um I think it's Nekoma." Yui flicked through the schedule to find the third match. Sure enough it was Nekoma. Yui debated staying off for another match but when she caught the eye of a certain scheming captain she changed her mind.

"Momoko I'll be playing this game," Said girl handed over her bib as Yui handed over the note book to Akemi.

"Akemi if you wouldn't mind taking notes for me."

Yui pulled her hair to the base of her neck in a tight ponytail, regretting not braiding it earlier. Before the games begun again she warmed up and stretched, setting up for Himari a couple times before a whistle was blown.

Nekoma lined up into their starting positions, each of them with a determined look on their face. They weren't going to underestimate Aobajohsai just because they were girls. Like the other games, the two captains went to shake hands. Yui hadn't hand a chance to speak to Kuroo yet and found herself grinning at the chance to finally play against him.

The two captains reached out, hands clasped as they smiled at each other. Yui went to move away but found herself being tugged forward. Her head found itself pressed into Kuroo's chest as he bought his arms around to give her a firm pat on the back.

"It's good to see you again shorty." Yui shoved him away, not liking how sweating his hug was.

"You smell gross bedhead, but it's good to see you too." Yui sent him a smile as she moved to her starting position. Nekoma was first to serve, Lev's form was terrible but his hit was strong.

Ichika didn't have any trouble in reviving the ball, it flew in an ark that was perfect for Yui to set from. Naturally Yui tended to set for Himari more, the two always worked together seamlessly but Yui wanted to make sure that all of her hitters were confident. Yui also knew that Nekoma was on a different level to the two other teams they'd played and the girls could tell as well.

The ball barely touched her fingers and she sent it behind her to the awaiting hand of Yuki. Despite being a middle blocker, she had good spike and wasn't someone expected to be set to. Two of Nekoma's blockers had fallen for it, moving to block Himari. Kuroo however seemed to catch Yui's trick and managed to jump just in time for his fingers to graze the ball. However this deflection only sent the ball out of any players reach. The first point was the girls.

After that first point the boys upped their game, their defence was infuriating. With Kuroo leading the blocks, Kenma's strategic sets and Yaku's incredible receives the girls found themselves struggling at 2-9. However it was now Yui's turn to serve.

She held the ball in her hands and gazed out at the opposite side of the court. Her green eyes flickered from each player, choosing which spot would be hardest to receive. Once she found that spot her eyes didn't linger long, she knew how perceptive players could be. The whistle blew indicating that she could now serve and with a deep breath the ball was launched into the air, her body following.

For a brief second she hovered in the air, her hair catching the light in a silver crown. Then the ball had smashed against the wooden floor. Yui grinned wildly when she noticed the no one had even moved to receive the ball, she'd gotten better. Her team cheered for her as she caught the ball for another serve.

By the time Nekoma had managed to receive Yui's serve the girls team was only three points behind. With the boost in moral, the gap between the two teams remained fairly constant but even after two sets the girls didn't win. Once again they took their laps with pride.

By the end of the day the girls had one a few more sets but found themselves unable to win a game. Yui didn't mind the losses. She saw how hard her team played and how much fun they had playing such great opponents, how much joy she felt when her sets helped win them a point.

The matches had finished and there was still a few hours before dinner. Yui thought it best to let her girls go off and mingle with the other teams, Himari already seemed to be joking around with Tanaka and Nishinoya. Yui had spent some time talking to Kenma about his setting style but the boy quickly made it obvious that's he'd much prefer to be playing his game.

So with all of her team off training with other people, Yui busied herself with refilling the bottles and washing the bibs. The girls team hadn't had a manager the whole time Yui had been at Aobajohsai and she'd gotten used to doing the job that came with captain and manager. The other second years also helped out a lot but most of it was Yui. She was the one who sorted out practise matches and ordered the uniform and washed and cleaned it. She kept track of the equipment and organised when they could train in the gym. She made sure that the girls could each pay for the tournaments. Many of this things she'd only just started doing but most of them she'd been doing since she started second year.

Some of the other managers had help Yui out with hanging up the bibs and washing the bottles but most of it she'd done herself. She left the laundry room and was planning on making her way back into the main gym to see if she could practise setting. Yui could still see how much improvement she needed to make, seeing setters like Akaashi, Kenma and Kageyama only made it more obvious. The silver haired girl was lost in her thoughts, a frown etched on her face as she moved past the third gym.

"Hey cupcake come join us." Yui jumped in surprise at the voice that called out to her. Kuroo was standing at the doorway, his messy hair poking out and a lazy grin on his face. The third year could tell Yui was deep in thought, something troubling her but after he'd just had just offended Tsukishima he though it best to keep his mouth shut. Kuroo also noticed that Yui seemed different from when he last saw her.

She seemed paler then before, washed out and pasty. He thought she seemed thinner than before too, not in a way that flattered her but in a way that made her seem frail and tired. Her hair looked dull and her eyes didn't gleam with joy like they had before. Kuroo couldn't help but think that she need to rest.

Yui walked towards the boy and entered the gym. She noticed some Nekoma players working on their blocks against Bokuto and Akaashi and Lev laying in the corner. Yui wanted to join him. She began to pull up her hair to play when Kuroo grabbed her arm, his fingers easily wrapping around.

"Actually cupcake maybe you should rest, you look tired." Kuroo decided that he didn't care if he upsets her, he didn't want her to pass out from exhaustion.

"So I'm cupcake now huh?" Yui ignored Kuroo's concern laced voice, not wanting to acknowledge it.

"Well too many people call Hinata shortie, can't have people getting confused." He didn't let go of her arm.

"I'm serious Yui." She gave the boy her best most convincing smile.

"And I'm seriously fine Kuroo." She tanked her arm out of his grasp and jogged over time Akaashi, beginning a discussion about back row sets. Yui refused to look back at Kuroo.

Yui was angry about his comments. She couldn't understand why he was so nosey, he wasn't her teammate so why was he trying to get involved? Not only that but he inferred that she wasn't looking good. That really bugged Yui, though she couldn't figure out why the idea of the scheming captain finding her unattractive bothered her so much. But worst of all was that he was right.

Yui decided to take his advice and rest. She asked Akemi to sort out the rest of the manager roles and left dinner early to go to bed. Day one of the training camp and she was exhausted.


	10. Chapter 10

Over the next two days Yui found herself avoiding Kuroo. It wasn't anything intentional, she would still greet him and speak to him if she had to but she had made a point of staying away from the third gym. Any personal practise she would spend with Kenma, until he vanished to play his games, or Kageyama. Infact she didn't spend that much personal practise with her team. Most of the girl were exciting to play with people who they could learn from; the girls team only had nine members so they knew each others skills well.

And those skills were improving. In just two days they'd managed to win a game against Karasuno and Ubugawa. That being said Karasuno were struggling with added tonnes of new techniques into their game play. After such a great day for Aobajohsai Yui was surprised and how much energy the girls had left.

"Come on Yui please!" Himari dragged out the 'e' sound as she begged Yui to join her in the third gym. Yui was ready to say she had other people to practise with but she really didn't. Kenma had already gone back to the dorm and Kageyama was getting more and more stressed about his new set. Yui didn't want to bother the kid anymore. So being unable to resist Himari's puppy dog eyes, Yui begrudgingly agreed.

The gym was quieter then it had been when Yui had been there a few nights before. Well there were less people but the noise was just as loud. With Hinata and Bokuto on one team it was surprising there hadn't been a noise complaint. Yui was also surprised to see Tsukishima playing as well. She didn't really know the boy but from what his teammates said he wasn't one to put in more work then necessary.

"Heya boys mind if we join." Himari's tone was effortlessly flirty and she tilted her head and hip in inquisition. Yui felt hazel eyes burning into her but she ignored it and instead focused on Hinata who seemed to be incapable of standing still.

"Sure the more the merrier." It was Kuroo who replied. Himari immediately went bounding off to Kuroo's team. Since they'd arrived at the camp Himari and Bokuto had been having an unspoken competition and this little match was just another point to have against each other. Yui was actually quite happy to not be on Kuroo's team, until she realised that his team were practically giants.

"Wait a minute," Yui held out both of her hands, "something about having the two smallest players on one team doesn't seem right, I mean three of you are over six foot." She complained.

"I have to agree this seems even more unbalanced." Akaashi shot a pointed glare at Kuroo.

"Height has never seemed to bother those too before, you're not scared are you Yui~" Himari taunted her best friend knowing just how much it would get under her skin. Yui shot back with a blank gaze and a middle finger before turning to her team, the Owls. With two setters and two spikers Yui knew they'd be playing offensive whilst the cats would be in defence.

With Tsukishima starting with the first serve, Yui found it quite easy to receive, he was always focused on getting the ball over the net rather than making it hard to receive. With Akaashi setting the ball to Bokuto they'd secured the first point. But it didn't last long. Despite the Cats not having a proper setter, Himari was easily adapting to the sets and spiking them over.

As the game went on Yui found herself playing more as a Libero than anything else, her chest hurt from sliding on the floor so much. But it felt amazing to set for players like Hinata and Bokuto. Yui was already used to Hinata's play style, she knew that to get the best out of him required incredibly accurate sets that she loved to send over. Bokuto was even more fun. His jumps and his power meant that the first few sets Yui had given him weren't quite right but once she'd adjusting she felt unstoppable.

However when in game to her own spikes and blocks Yui was ready to curl up into a ball. The Cats had formed a three person block with Lev, Tsukishima and Kuroo leaving Himari to catch any stray balls. Hinata was barely managing to get past it and Yui couldn't jump as high or hit as hard. It didn't help that each time she was blocked out Kuroo would send her the most irritating smirk known to man. She was trying her best to stay calm but that smirk was making her loose her mind.

But now she was serving and she had a trick up her sleeve. Yui had seen the new serve Oikawa had been working on and she'd been practising it too. It was more of a spike than a serve and it was highly unpredictable hence she hadn't used it in a game yet. For Oikawa it tended to be hot out of court but for Yui she never seemed to hit it hard enough to make it over the net at such an angle. However, the anger that was bubbling inside her assured her that she'd smashed that ball straight past the Cats.

Yui wore her own smirk as she planned to serve right next to Kuroo just to see his reaction. She bounced the ball and few times and shot a wink at Himari before flinging the ball high into the air.

'If you're going to hit it, hit it till it breaks.' And break it she would.

"Oh shit." Yui heard Himari curse when she registered what was about to happen. Yui didn't think she'd ever jumped this high before but it didn't matter when she could see the perfect shot, a light pinpointing a spot just next to Kuroo's feet. All of that anger and frustration that Yui had been feeling was out into that serve and as her hand made contact with the ball she let out a yell. Unfortunately it slipped her mind that she really could not aim when she hit the ball that hard.

Instead of the ball hitting the floor with a satisfying bang, it hit Kuroo. Right between his legs.

"Fuck!" The Nekoma captain fell to the floor holding his groin as the rest of the boys did the same, wincing on instinct. Yui was shocked still and couldn't quite process what was happening, a small voice in her head said it was quite funny. Himari was similarly shocked, she couldn't tell if Yui had actually meant to hit Kuroo after all she'd noticed some tension between the two.

Finally snapping out if it, Yui ducked under the net and went to check on the boy. He was curled up into a ball on his side, eyes screwed shut in pain.

"Oh my god I'm so sorry, are you okay? Should I get some ice?" Yui placed her hand in Kuroo's hair and tried to ignore how soft it was. The boy only groaned in response and the rest of the players crowed around.

"I think I'm dying, this is it, I'll never get to go to collage or get married or have kids." Kuroo turned over onto his other side, turning away from Yui. After hearing Kuroo's response, Yui stood up and flared down at the boy.

"If you can joke then you're just fine, let's go get some dinner." Yui grabbed Hinata and Bokuto's arms and tugged then away. Tsukishima was more than happy to leave, despite finding the event amusing he didn't want to spend more time with these people the necessary. Akaashi gave a look at Kuroo before following Yui, Himari doing the same.

"Hey wait you can't just leave me! Cupcake take responsibility for you're actions!" Yui sighed when she felt a pang of guilt and spun around on her heel. She grabbed Kuroo under his arms and began to drag him on the floor but only managed to move a couple centimetres.

"What are you made out of, bricks?" Kuroo let out as gasp at Yui comment and sent her a playful glare before standing up. Yui moved to catch up with their friends who had already left but a heavy weight on her shoulder stopped her. She turned her head to the side to see a grinning captain staring down at her, Yui realised just how much taller Kuroo was.

"What's that face for cupcake?" Kuroo bent down so he was eye level with Yui. Like always Yui's cheeks were set aflame from the close contact and she prayed that Kuroo would just think her flush was from playing volleyball. Kuroo liked how easily he could make her blush.

"You're just super heavy, I'm not sure I can carry your weight."

"So you won't even help me after you've probably rendered me incapable of having children?" Yui only sighed as she wrapped her arm around Kuroo's waist and began to walk, trying her best to ignore the smug face of the Nekoma captain.

"I've gotta say cupcake that was one intense serve, why haven't I seen it in the matches." With the sun gone down Yui felt nervous being out in the open when it was dark. Unconsciously she moved closer to Kuroo.

"I can't usually get it over the net and if I do it usually goes out, today was one of the first times it's been in court." Yui tried to stifle a laugh when she remembered the face Kuroo made when the ball hit. On the other hand Kuroo winced at the memory, he'd blocked spikes that would hurt less.

The two didn't speak as the approached the canteen, the tension from the last few days returning. Yui wasn't sure why but she felt she had to apologise, not for the ball but for the other day. All he'd done was been concerned for her and she'd thanked him by ignoring him. They paused in the doorway, Yui tensing when Kuroo's grasp on her shoulder tightened.

"Do you think we could talk after dinner, like in private?" Kuroo's voice was soft, like when he was speaking to her about getting some rest, his eyes sincere not that Yui would meet them.

"Uh yeah sure thing." The words rushed out as Yui scuttled away and in to get her food. In her head Yui was screaming about why Kuroo would want to speak to her. He sounded so serious when he asked but he gave away nothing about what it could be about, Yui's stomach felt awful.

Decided that she would avoid Kuroo until she had to speak to him, Yui took her seat with the Karasuno third years. She realised that she hasn't really spoken them in a while and found herself caught up in the conversation. Yui liked speaking to her seniors. Daichi was giving her advice on keeping the team in check whilst Sugawara was complaining that it was him that did most of it.

Soon everyone began to leave, some going back to keep practising and others to bed. Yui told her first years to get some rest knowing that if she left them to their own devices she'd be spending her evening trying to find them. She was tempted to make an excuse to Kuroo about helping with dishes or needing to talk to her cousin but was worried she might upset him. Yui gave him a small nod as she went to wait for him outside.

It was colder now, the sun completely set leaving the campus courtyard to be lit by dim streetlights. Yui wished she'd bought a jacket. Kuroo made his way outside and spotted the second year setter who was lost in thought. He took a moment to study her. Yui's silver hair fell freely down her back in waves a difference from how she usually had it braided for practise. Her nose slightly turned up and the end and her lips pursed as bit the inside of her mouth.

Kuroo was well aware that she was pretty, the boys of both Karasuno and Nekoma had discussed it at the first training camp, but he never took much notice. But now when she stood under the pale light, her features highlighted by the shadows he was suddenly struck by how beautiful she was.

"Oh my god! You scared the shit outta me." Yui finally noticed Kuroo's presence and didn't keep quiet about how much it had startled her. That usual last smirk played on Kuroo's lips and he chuckled slightly at her reaction before leading her away from the cafeteria. Yui didn't really have an idea where Kuroo was leading her, she hadn't spent much time exploring in her time at the camp. The two didn't speak, the silence not quite uncomfortable but Yui felt herself hyper aware of it.

"So what was it you wanted to speak about?" Yui did her best to keep her nervousness out of her voice, she hated not knowing things. If Kuroo was honest he didn't really know what he wanted to speak about. Well he knew he wanted to apologise for earlier that week when he overstepped his place and upset her but that was really the only thing. Now standing in the dark he felt stupid for making a big deal out of it.

"I uh just wanted to apologise for earlier this week, I didn't mean to offend you." Kuroo stared at his feet as he scratched the back of his head, messing his hair up even more. Yui let out a sigh of relief.

"You don't have to apologise, you didn't do anything wrong, actually you were just being nice. I'm sorry for overreacting." The two hesitated before both trying to speak at the same time. Kuroo gestured for Yui to go.

"You were right about me needing to rest. It's just with the qualifiers so close and the girls relying on me for everything and I feel like I'm making no improvement." Yui silently scolded herself for saying to much, she didn't want to burden Kuroo with her problems.

"I mean you have got a lot on your plate, I've never seen a captain do so much for her team." Kuroo sat down and Yui followed suit, leaning back against a tree for support. Yui wasn't sure what it was about Kuroo but he made her feel comfortable, like he would take her as she was and not judge her for it.

"I'm not sure if I'm even being a good captain at all." Yui swallowed hard trying to fight back the tears that suddenly wanted to fall. She couldn't understand why she was being so emotional. Kuroo seemed to sense Yui's struggle and reached out to hold her hand, giving it a squeeze in comfort.

"The girls all work so hard and are so talented that if we don't do well I'll feel like I've let them down. Most of them haven't even had a chance to play in an official Highschool match." Yui focused on how calming it felt to have Kuroo holder her hand.

"Well that's not your fault especially when most of the girls are first years, it pretty normal." Yui wanted to accept his words but her irrational mind wouldn't allow it.

"But I feel like it is." Kuroo shot her a questioning look, he wanted to know the whole story.

"I was the only person to play in the last tournament because our old captain thought that only the eldest players should be first string. Akari, she was the captain, refused to let us even pinch serve to prove a point to me." Yui winced as she recalled the feud between herself and Akari.

"When she first became captain and told us what she had planned for the team I spoke up. I told her it was unfair and idiotic to do that to our team, all of our third years only cared about impressing the captain of the boys team. I was just so angry that she was benching girls like Himari and Ichika who have so much passion that I overstepped the line. To get back at me she let me play but as a Libero and refused to let me even practise setting, she knew how much it would upset me. And now I feel so guilty because I still got to play and I felt miserable but they didn't even get a chance." Yui didn't bother to wipe the stray tears that slipped down her face. It was that guilt that had eaten away at her the bast seven months. That she was so ungrateful.

"Yui you really have nothing to feel guilty for, I've never seen anyone work so hard and selflessly for people in the way that you do for your team. You're not just a captain but a mentor, a coach, a manager and a friend. I'll be honest you're making me look like a bad captain." Kuroo bumped his shoulder against Yui trying his best to cheer her up, he was never good with people crying. Yui let out a strangled laugh and nudged him back.

"Thank you for listening to me, I'm sorry that I bothered you with my mess." Yui turned herself to look at Kuroo, only just making out his hazel eyes in the dark.

"You didn't bother me at all cupcake, I'm glad you got it out of you and that you trusted me to tell me." Yui wasn't sure why but her breath hitched when he smiled. It wasn't his usual smirk or grin, it was much softer and sincere.

"Well is there anything you want to get off your chest? Seems only fair that I get to play shrink." The two captain spent the next few hours talking. Some of it lighthearted and fun and other stuff more serious and personal. But for the two of them it just felt natural.

When Kuroo found himself opening up about his mother and her abandonment of him and his dad, something he'd only really spoken about to Kenma, he felt safe. He wasn't afraid to be venerable with Yui especially after she talked about her parents divorce. At some point during their conversation Kuroo has wrapped his arm around Yui shoulder after nothing her shiver, Yui had then rested her head on his chest.

Kuroo was telling Yui a story about Bokuto and him at last years tournament, something to do with a block of butter and Akaashi's hair gel, when Yui fell asleep. She hadn't even realised she'd closed her eyes. Always observant, Kuroo noticed after a few minutes and smiled down at the girl. He was well aware that he was developing a crush on the second year but he didn't pay much attention to it, he just liked being with her.

"Hey cupcake I think we should get you to you're bed." Yui frowned when she felt someone gentle shaking her awake. Her eyes opened to see Kuroo grinning down at her. He helped her to her feet, trying not to laugh at her sleepy state.

"Jump up and I'll give you a piggy back to the dorms sleepyhead." Yui was too tired to even attempt a proper jump and half climbed up Kuroo and finally made it onto his back with a lot of assistance. Yui let her head rest on Kuroo shoulder and spent the walked back to the dorms attempting to flatten the Nekoma captains hair. It didn't work.

"There we go cupcake," Kuroo set Yui down on the ground, he voice a whisper as to not awaken anyone else.

"Thank you Kuroo, whatever would I do without my knight in shining armour." The two laughed quietly together before Yui moved forward to wrap her arms around Kuroo's waist. She hurried her face in his chest and smiled at the smell of fresh cotton and something more masculine.

"Thank you for everything." Yui didn't wait for a response and nearly sprinted into her dorm to avoid any more embarrassment. Yui was trying her best to be quiet when she opened the door but was surprised to see her whole team awake, waiting for her return.

"You've got some explaining to do."


	11. Chapter 11

It was only the second match of the day and the girls of Aobajohsai had not stopped teasing their captain. Some of them, Himari, had placed bets on which captain Yui would pick. Yui scolded them but was glad that they were having fun at her expense. In her mind Yui didn't have the time or space to be concern with boys but she wasn't that oblivious to how attractive both Oikawa and Kuroo were. Any girl would be lucky to have the attention of either one but for Yui she was convinced that they could never possible like her like that. Of course Oikawa would tease her and there was the matter of the kiss but Yui had decided that it didn't mean anything to him.

Her teams teasing really didn't bother her that much, she was feeling better than ever after her chat with Kuroo. A weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Yui felt that her sets were better and her team were working together in perfect harmony. Although they were still yet to win a game against Fukurōdani and Nekoma, the girls all felt pleased with their plays. Yui was also glad that she got to spend more time with her cousin and his team.

During the Aobajohsai vs Karasuno games found herself trash talking and teasing the boys which was unlike her usual serious self. Yui enjoyed how when she teased Kageyama he would blush and glare at her or how loud Nishinoya, Tanka and Hinata were when they scored. Keishin would give both teams pointers when they were playing and enjoyed being extra harsh on his little cousin just to see how filled up she would get.

When they went on their breaks the girls would mingle the other teams, feeling far more comfortable then the previous few days. Yui wasn't sure if she'd ever been this happy. The practise games felt fun and she could feel the improvement which only edged her to play harder. Over the past few months she'd found herself not enjoying practise and playing didn't feel fun anymore so she was glad that that spark of joy she felt when she'd first played the sport was back. And she had the boys to thank for that.

After the main practise matches, the third gym was preparing for a rematch. Yui and Himari has switch teams after Akaashi explained there wasn't much benefit of having two setters on one team. So Yui found herself surrounded by giants. All of the boys on the Cat team were at least 20cm taller then her and it didn't help that the whole gym laughed when they saw her stand in between Lev and Tsukishima.

Yui found it quite hard setting for her new team as well. With the Owls all of them played as spikers and naturally they knew how to place themselves for a ball but with Lev whose technique was awful at best and Tsukishima who never jumped as high as he could Yui found herself struggling. Lev was the hardest to set for since he relied on his instincts rather then thinking before he jumped. But Kuroo and Tsukishima played quite similarly to how Yui did and found that they were in the perfect places when she set.

But the issues arose when Yui was at the front of the court. Yui wasn't like Hinata who could jump high enough to match six foot player, actually she struggle to get her hands over the net at the height it was set at for boys. Every time she attempted to block she couldn't match up with the boys. Yui was getting fed up with being too short, usually it didn't bother her since she could keep up with the taller girls but this was something different.

Himari noticed how frustrated Yui was getting, she could see it in the way Yui's sets were too strong and her serves more aggressive. For Yui most things came reasonably easily, especially volleyball but blocks were something she'd always struggled with. When Himari spiked and Yui was blocking her, Himari would jump as high, letting Yui get a couple of one touches. But Yui knew her best friends spikes like the back of her hand and noticed immediately what Himari was doing. It only made Yui more annoyed.

"Himari!" Yui called out as she went to take her serve. Himari's dark eyes burned into Yui's.

"Don't go taking it easy on me now." The two grinned at each other, Himari nodded in understanding and readied herself for Yui's new serve. Yui tried once again to perform her powerful serve but it hit the net making her scowl at the obstacle.

"Don't mind Yui-chan!" Lev gave the girl a slap on the back as they watch the owls switch positions. Lev's constantly chirpy attention was the only thing that stopped Yui from screaming in frustration especially when Tsukishima kept making comments about how bad her blocks were.

After the boys on Yui's team blocked out one of Himari's spike, Yui found herself alone with Bokuto ready to spike. Yui wasn't even sure she was going to bother to jump, she knew she didn't have a chance to block it. But she wasn't one to give up.

As she jumped she felt two hands grasp her waist, lifted her up high over the net. Yui squealed as she locked eyes with Bokuto, his eyes widening as he smacked the ball not having time to stop the motion. Yui bought her arms up to protect her face but was too slow and the ball hit her face. Yui thought she'd been punched in the face with how hard the ball had hit her, receiving Bokuto's spikes normally was bad enough but to the face was a different type of pain.

Kuroo, who'd been the one to lift her, cheered when he noticed her successful block but the owls could only wince. Yui clutched her forehead which was now brandished with a red circle as Kuroo places her gently on the floor.

"Best block of the game cupcake!" Kuroo and Lev cheered but immediately stopped once Yui turned around. Her green eyes were watery from the tears she was trying to hold back and her hands were pressed against her forehead. Bokuto called out an apology and ducked under the net to come take a look at the damage.

"It's okay Bokuto it was an accident, it doesn't hurt that bad." Yui gave him a gentle smile and moved her hands to pat his shoulder. As she did everyone inhaled sharply as they got a good look at the mark on Yui's head.

"Hey Yui-san do you want sit down for a bit?" Akaashi offered noticing how Yui stumbled a little bit when she moved towards Bokuto. Yui shook her head to say no but as she did her vision black out briefly.

"You know what Iwaizumi-senpai that's a good idea." Yui looked over at Akaashi and frowned. "You changed your hair Iwa." Yui ducked slightly and stood infront of a very confused Akaashi. Himari was the only one who realised that that Yui was confusing the second year setter for Aobajohsai's vice captain. Yui tilted her head as she looked at Akaashi before bringing her hands up and ruffling his hair.

"Have you grown too?" Yui continued to pat Akaashi's head, the boy frozen as he started down at the delirious girl.

"Hey cupcake lets go get you some ice okay?" Kuroo gently tugged on Yui's wrist as he directed her towards towards the door. Yui tipped her arm out of his grasp and pouted.

"I'm not leaving my favourite senpai." Yui moved to cling onto Akaashi's arm who was looking more and more uncomfortable. Bokuto was laughing at his best friends stiffness whilst Kuroo frowned at the idea that Yui's favourite senpai wasn't him.

Himari, after she'd finished laughing, pulled Yui away from Akaashi and tugged her towards the door. This time Yui followed her friends, waving goodbye to Akaashi. Just when Himari thought that Yui was going to calmly follow her, Yui spotted Hinata. Her eyes literally sparkled when saw his orange hair.

"Hina! You're so cute!" The boy blushed when Yui wriggled our of her friends hold and hugged him. Yui wasn't sure why but in her current concussed state she was obsessed with hair. She began to coddle the boy, exclaiming how adorable he was and how much she loved him and watching him play.

"You're my favourite Spiker on the boys team." Hinata was practically glowing at the praise he was receiving, his eyes wide and a blush dusted across his cheeks.

"Hey Yui that's not fair!" Bokuto yelled out, Akaashi rolling his eyes at his teammates childishness. Yui turned at the call of her name and grinned wildly when she took notice of how spiky Bokuto's hair was. Before she could run over again Kuroo finally managed to get a strong grip on her. Yui complained as she was dragged away from Bokuto and Tsukishima muttered something about being surround by idiots which earned him a slap upside the head from Himari.

Fed up with Yui constantly trying to wriggle out of Kuroo's grasp, he bent down and carried her in both his arms. Yui was ready to complain again but caught sight of the raven hair that just begged for Yui to mess up even more. She quietly giggled to herself as she bought her right hand up to touch it but Kuroo moved his neck so she couldn't reach.

"I'll let you play with my hair as much as you want once we get you an ice pack." Yui huffed but kept her hands to herself as Kuroo walked towards the nurses office. Himari told Kuroo she'd meet him there but wanted to tell Keishin what had happened. Tsukishima announced he was going to bed whilst Bokuto bragged about teaching Hinata a new special move.

Yui was starting to feel tired the throbbing on her forehead seemed to get worse with each jostle that came along with Kuroo's steps. Luckily they had arrived and Kuroo played Yui gently on the edge on the bed before looking in the cupboards for an ice pack. After finally finding one he wrapped a towel around it before placing it on Yui's forehead. She whimpered as it touched her skin but was glad that it help with the pain.

Kuroo brushed back some of the hair that had fallen out of Yui's plait and removed the ice pack to take a look at how bad the hit was. The red mark had faded slightly but was still prominent and Kuroo felt awful that it was his fault she'd got hurt. He'd noticed how annoyed she was getting with not being tall enough to block properly and wanted to cheer her up by helping her out. In his head it was supposed to be a cute moment that would make Yui smile and laugh because she'd blocked Bokuto out.

"Pretty sure you're gonna have a bruise cupcake." His fingers gently grazed over the mark but he stopped when he noticed her wince in pain and instead gently pressed the ice pack back on her head. The two were at eye level but Yui was far more interested with the older boys hair, she wanted to know how it could defy gravity like that.

Tentatively she reached out and tried to flatten one of the spikes but it bounced right back. Yui giggled as she tried to flatten it but the same thing happened. Something about the way it sprung back up amused Yui to no end. Before Yui could make anymore attempts to flatten the door flung open and Ukai ran in. He scowled when he noticed how close his cousin and the scheming captain were and grabbed the boy by the shoulders so he could check up on Yui.

Yui smiles when she saw her cousin but frowned when he moved Kuroo out the way, she'd mentally made it a challenge that she'd find a way to flatten his hair. Yui made sure to sit still as Keishin scanned her for anymore injuries, even in her delirious state she was aware of how serious he was about her getting hurt.

Keishin was an only child and Yui was practically his little sister and as much as she annoyed him and the shop and pestered him to play volleyball with he hated seeing her in pain. When Yui was in middle school she'd torn a ligament in her ankle and couldn't play for two months whist she was practicing with Keishin. He'd wanted her to try doing a quick with him setting for her but she hadn't wanted to do it. He convinced her that it was important for her to be able to play well in any position and when she jump for the ball she fell. Because he was the only family member around at the camp he felt it was his fault for not keeping an eye on her more.

Luckily the hit wasn't too bad. Keishin guessed it was only a minor concussion and that with some ice and some rest for the next few weeks she'd be okay. He told Kuroo and Himari as such. Kuroo offered to help Yui back up to her dorm but Keishin told both Himari and Kuroo that they should head over to dinner.

Yui's previous excitement had died down and as her cousin helped her walk up the stairs she felt weary. She wondered if Keishin did too. She'd noticed that he was working shifts after coaching and before that he would help on the fields early in the morning. Yui wondered if he ever slept.

"Do you think I'm a good setter Keishin?" He was surprised at how serious Yui was being. Keishin was aware of just how hard his cousin was pushing herself with volleyball and he wasn't sure how she was keeping up with school work as well.

"One of the best I've even see Yui." Keishin patted her head gently as he let Yui sit down on her futon. Even though Yui really loved volleyball, Keishin knew she wasn't just working hard because of that but also because she'd always been outshined by her older siblings and she wanted to impress her dad.

"Get some rest and I'll have Himari bring you up something to eat okay?" Yui nodded softly and bought the ice pack back up to her head and watched her cousin leave.   
For the first time that week Yui was entirely alone. As much as she loved playing and talking with everyone, she felt absolutely exhausted. So it wasn't much of a surprise that when she closed her eyes she fell asleep almost immediately.

~*~

It was the final day of camp and Yui felt awful. She had a pounding headache that wasn't helped at all by the screaming of people like Momoko and Nishinoya. Not only that but Keishin had refused to let her play a single set and Yui was forced to watch as everyone had fun in the final games. But that didn't mean she wasn't doing anything.

Since Yui knew she wasn't going to be playing for at least a week, curtesy of the blossoming bruise on her forehead, she made sure to be extra strict on the girls. However, being on the sidelines made her see just how much improvement they had made in just a week.

It wasn't anything extraordinary, not like Karasuno who seemed to finally be performing well again, but as a team they're skills were far more consistent and they were more aware of each other. Yui had never felt so proud watching them win sets against the boys, proving that they were just as good a team.

The girls had just lost a match against Shinzen and were sweating as they took their flying lap, Karasuno doing the same a court over. Yui passed out the girls drinks, praising them as she did for their good work.

"Nice work Yuki, I think your serves are better than mine!" The shy first year turn red at the compliment and stuttered to deny it but Yui on chuckled before handing out another bottle. She turned to speak to Amaya about working on her back row hits but was cut off by the sudden cheering of some Karasuno players.

Yui winced at the loud noise they were making, screaming about meat and barbecue. The girls all laughed as they saw Tanaka, Nishinoya and Hinata cheering whist Kageyama seemed to be doing some sort of dance to the song. At the sound of a barbecue the girls energy also boosted, even the quieter players discussing what they were going to eat.

Yui and Akemi already knew about the barbecue, they'd asked Saito Sensei to bring along some food to share as well as a thank you gift for the coaches and the boys. They still had a few hours before any barbecue would start and Yui had promised to help Saito with the preparation. Akemi gave her captain a nod before turning to her team and instructing then for the next game whilst Yui snuck off into the kitchens.

Saito was already chopping up some vegetables to make into skewers and next to her was a bag full of ingredients. The two chatted as they cooked, talking about Saito's daughter and the training camp. Yui had been preparing fruit tarts for all the teams and the coaches, using her grandmas recipe. She was glad they were using a school kitchen that had the facilities to cook for large numbers otherwise Yui wasn't sure she could have managed it.

When it came to baking Yui was pretty good, although no matter how hard she tried the kitchen would always end up a mess, but cooking wasn't really her forte. She could manage the basics and she could do the prep work but something during the actual cooking part always seemed to go wrong. So Yui made sure to stick to chopping up peppers and carving watermelon rather than cooking the food outside.

Once the tarts were finished, seven in total, Yui sent a quick text to Akemi asking her to help bring them out. Akemi informed Yui that they were just about to go out for the barbecue and that she would come quickly before everyone started eating. The blonde girl poke her head around the kitchen door just seconds later and muttered something about Yui being such a messy person. They placed each of the strawberry tarts onto two tray before taking them outside.

All the boys were crowded around the coaches who were announcing the meal, Saito tending to the food. They boys looked ready to attack so Yui decided to keep her speech as short as possible. Clearing her throat loudly, Yui step out from behind the coaches.

"As a thank you to the coaches and the teams for having us I um well I made some tarts so I hope they taste alright." Yui's started off strong but with all eyes on her she began to loose confidence and mumbled the end of her sentence. But the boys all felt touched non the less that the Aobajohsai team had bought a gift. Keishin walked over to his cousin and helped her set out the baked goods.

"Really showed me up with the tarts there, making Karasuno look bad for not bringing a gift."

"Yeah well if it was anything you cooked it would be a punishment not a gift." Yui teased, sticking her tongue out as Keishin automatically flicked her temple. The flick did hurt a little bit but Yui dramatically grasped her head and cried out.

"God I'm sorry Yui I didn't even think!" Her cousin rushed forward to help but stopped when her saw her cackling at his reaction.

"I hate you." Keishin have Yui a blank stare before walking away. Yui walked away also, joining her team to grab some food. With a loaded plate she spotted Kenma sitting by himself, phone in hand. Yui suddenly remembered that she wanted to speak to him a bout a new game that was coming out so quietly joined him. The reserved boy gave Yui a small nod of acknowledgement as she sat down on the steps and ate a couple bites of food before launching into the new game.

Kenma was actually close to being talkative when it was the topic of games especially when Yui was telling him about a new game that had yet to have details released. Yui had used her brothers job as one of the directors of a gaming company to help talk with Kenma when they'd practised together in the first few days. Kenma didn't do much playing but did offer some great tips for game plays and strategy.

"You know I could probably get my brother to send me the prototype if you wanted it." Yui offered. Kenma gave her a small smile and nodded his head.

"That would be really cool." Before Yui could continue explaining the game Daichi walked over to offer Tsukishima some food. Suddenly there was an onslaught of captains prompting Tsukishima and Kenma to eat more, Kuroo and Bokuto joining Daichi. Kenma looked as though he'd rather be anywhere else so Yui bent her head towards him to mutter to him.

"I'll distract Kuroo so you can escape." Kenma had decided that Yui was his second favourite person, Hinata being first of course. Yui used her injury once again, complaining that her head hurt from how loud the boys were being which wasn't necessarily a lie. Kuroo turned his attention away from Kenma, the boy slipping off to talk to Hinata, and studied the dark purple mark on her forehead.

"You two better hope I can play my qualifiers in two weeks." She gave both Bokuto and Kuroo a stern look who looked down in guilt. Yui was only teasing the two, both of them had spent the morning apologising after they found out Yui couldn't play. However, Yui did find her self angry that she might not be cleared to play the first qualifiers but until she got a proper check up she wouldn't know.

Yui grabbed the two captains and guided them back over to the tables of food, urging them to try her tart. She watched as Kuroo and Bokuto each took a large bite and waited to gage their reaction. The two boys eyes opened in sync before wolfing down the rest of their slices. Yui laughed at their idiocy but was glad that they liked it.

The rest of the afternoon was spent laughing and joking around with the different teams. Himari has found herself in an eating contest with Hinata and Bokuto, managing to come out on top thanks so her bottomless stomach. Momoko and Yui had started a non alcoholic version of beef pong and were undefeated until Kageyama and Sugawara challenges them, each of them using their setting skill to help them. Eventually Saito announced that the girls team had to leave early because of a call from Chiharu's parents who were expecting her home immediately.

Most of the girls were on the bus, goodbyes had already been said and phone number exchanged but Yui was double checking that they hadn't forgotten anything. The Karasuno boys had gone off to pack up their things and most of the other teams had left, only Nekoma and some Fukurōdani plays were waiting to wave their final goodbyes to Aobajohsai.

Yui was finally satisfied that nothing had been forgotten and closed up the luggage before turning to give her own final goodbyes. Even though she knew she'd see them again, especially the second and first years, Yui couldn't help but feel misty eyed at the idea of being so far away from such wonderful people. Yui was going to just hop on the bus but changed her mind and turned to engulf Bokuto in a hug.

The owl haired boy gave her a tight squeeze, lifting her up slightly so only her toes grazed the pavement. He was wailing about how much he was going to miss her and that he wanted to play her in an official match, not realising that it was an impossibility. Akaashi was the one who had to remove Bokuto, worried that he might not actually let Yui leave. The Fukurodani setter surprised everyone, including himself, when he pulled Yui in for a brief hug, so quick that Yui wasn't sure it had actually happened.

"I'll see the two of you soon okay? Akaashi keep him out of trouble." Yui was beaming after Akaashi being affectionate with her, it was different from Bokuto who was overly friendly. Finally Yui turned to Kenma and Kuroo, the younger one not playing on his phone for once.

"I'll send you over that game once I talk to my brother okay?" Kenma had a minute smile at the thought of an unreleased game. Knowing that the boy really wasn't a fan of any form of touching, Yui just have him a soft nod before telling him she'd see him soon.

"Saving you're favourite person for last I see." Kuroo drawled out.

"Is it that obvious that Kenma's my favourite?" Yui tilted her head whisky the pudding haired boy snickered at the expense of his best friend.

"I'll flick your bruise."

"You wouldn't dare!" The two began to bicker but were cut off when Saito told Yui that they needed to leave. Yui flung her arms around Kuroo's neck, struggling to reach as she rested her head on his shoulder. They stayed like that for a while, enjoying how that felt in each others arms.

"I'll be seeing you at nationals cupcake." Kuroo sounded so sure that both teams were going to make it that Yui believed it too. They would cheer each other on till the end.

"Especially with you're new face blocking technique." Kuroo yelp as Yui purpose stomped on his toe in response.

"Hurry it up love birds!" Himari yelled out one of the bus windows, the rest of the girls joining in with their own comments. Embarrassed, the two unwrapped themselves and Yui tried to calm her blushing face as she jogged to the bus door. Before she got in she waved a final goodbye to her friends and then took her seat.

To: Cupcake  
From: Roster Kuroo  
we're missing you already cupcake

Yui turned to look at the window and laughed when she saw Kuroo fake crying with Bokuto as they waved the bus goodbye.

To: Roster Kuroo  
From: Cupcake  
ur such a loser but tell bokuto that i miss him too

The two captains ended up texting each other for the rest of the day.


	12. Chapter 12

Today was the first day on the Inter High Qualifiers and Yui had been cleared to play. Because the Aobajohsai girls team had failed to make it into the top eight in the previous tournament they would have to win three matches to make it to the semi finals. Yui had made sure to send out a quick good luck test to the Karasuno boys who were in a similar situation as themselves.

Despite all of the team having played volleyball competitions before, for most of them it would be their first official game of high school. Out of the whole team only Yui and Akemi had played in an official match for Aobajohsai. It was safe to say that the nerves were getting the best of them.

"Uh captain I'm not sure you should place me in first string." Yuki muttered as she bit down on her fingernails.

"Oh god I think I'm going to be sick!" Sasaki clutched her stomach, her skin pasty and green. The team were currently sat waiting for their court to be free so they could warm up but all the waiting time had only played with their nerves more. The second years were much more composed, partially because they were more accustomed to the pressure but also because they knew they had to appear strong for their underclassmen.

"This is an important match for us girls!" Yui raised her voice, silencing the panicked rants of some of her team. Surprisingly Yui actually felt rather calm. Of course she could still feel those nervous flutters in her stomach but the feeling of excitement washed it out. This was the moment that Yui and her team would prove themselves and Yui had full confidence that they could do it.

"For a lot of you this will be your first high school game and I know that can be daunting but," Yui's green eyes blazed with conviction, "I've seen how much we've all improved and there is no doubt in my mind that we will leave our mark on this tournament!" The first years' nerves seemed to being to dissipate as their captain spoke.

"I've never been more proud of a team or more confident in a team then I am today. You are all so talented as individuals and together I believe we can make it to nationals." Maybe it was the passion that burned in Yui's eyes or the strength she had when she spoke but the girls began to feel empowered. The nerves were still present but as they began to chat amongst themselves they conversations were about tactics.

"Let's kick some ass!" Himari yelled, her fist pumped in the air. Heads turned to look at the girls but Aobajohsai just laughed at their vice captains attitude. Once they'd all stretched out Yui and Momoko moved to practise setting for the girls. One after another each girl clad in turquoise hit spike after spike.

Saito jogged over telling them that their first match would be against Karasuno. Yui felt a bit guilty knowing that some of the girls they'd be playing against would be friends with the Karasuno boys. However a part of her was glad they would be her first opponents. She'd seen them play before and in all honesty they weren't much of a team at all, it was clear that they didn't practise all that much. Seeing the Karasuno team warming up seemed to boost Aobajohsai's confidence, their spikes were sloppy.

And unfortunately for Karasuno's girls team they lost. Yui admired their passion, especially the captain who shared the same name but it was clear their was a gap between the two teams. That's not to say Aobajohsai's plays were perfect. Especially during the first set the girls nerves seemed to get the better of them, silly rookie errors were being made. But all that mattered was that the girls would be moving on to the next match.

Although it wasn't easy, the girls won another match. The nerves from before had all but vanished and the team was moving fluidly, it was hard to tell that they didn't have any third years. All that was left between Aobajohsai and the top eight was one more match. The Tokonami girls volleyball team had seen a huge improvement in the last year. Previously they hadn't been much of a contender at all but after two girls, now third years joined, their team had high hopes for making nationals.

The two girls in question were cousins who happened to share the gene for height. Both girls were edging close to the six foot mark and together formed challenging blocks. Even worse was that they both played middle blocker so there was never a moment when one of them wasn't at the net. Yui had taken notice of their plays last tournament, especially when they beat Aobajohsai in two sets.

Yui checked her phone in the break they had between matches. She had a message from her cousin detailing how the Karasuno boys were playing, so far so good. A couple of the boys from the training camp had also sent a good luck message too which boosted Yui's mood even further.

From: Kitty Kuroo  
Good luck today cupcake all the boys expect to see you at nationals so you better kick some ass!

From: Captain Owl  
GOODLUCK YUI!!!!!!! YOULL TOTALLY WIN!!!!

From: Cutie Akaashi  
Goodluck today I hope we can meet again at nationals

From: Shittykawa  
Hey Yui-chan good luck with the qualifiers today, I know you'll win! Promise I'll catch the games later on in the afternoon xxx

Yui grinned seeing all the support she was being given and relayed the messages to her team as well. The other girls had received similar messages from the boys they'd practised with. Yui also felt slightly burdened by the idea of Oikawa coming to watch her play but it felt nice knowing there'd be someone in the audience cheering just for her.

~*~

The game against Tokonami was difficult. Although the Aobajohsai girls had one the first set they'd lost the second and the third set wasn't looking too good. Sasaki and Himari were getting especially frustrated about their spikes being block and it didn't help that those cousins could spike just as well as they could block. Yui especially was getting pissed off. Although blocking at the woman's net hight was possible for Yui, she was still short and it meant that when she was at the net it gave the opposing team and advantage.

Saito Sensei, although not extremely knowledgeable in volleyball, could tell that the blockouts were gearing on the team and called for a time out. The score was currently 6-11 to Tokonami High School. The girls began discussing their frustrations, Himari being scolded for some of her less PG words, whilst Yui stayed relatively quiet. In her head she was playing out different attacks and strategies she could use to help change the tide.

"Okay girls listen up!" Yui snapped out of her trance to address her team.

"Tokonami is good I'll give em that but we're focusing too much on those two giants." Akemi seemed to clock on to what Yui was suggesting, her position off the court had given her the same insight.

"Captain's right, you're focusing in on those two and letting their strength distract you." Yui gave the pinch server a nod.

"They're relying almost entirely on those two. I'm not saying that the rest of the team is bad but they aren't anything special. We've faced taller blocks and harder spikes so let's go and win!" A chorus of cheers erupted as the first string made their way back to the court.

Unfortunately Yui was at the front but in the next rotation she'd be serving and she was determined to close the gap in points. But she had to focus on the issue at hand first. Tokonami's number 7 gave a basic over arm serve that was easily revived by Ichika, the libero. Yui moved herself to the middle front of the court and jumped ready to set. The siver haired girl watched as Himari leapt ready to spike and one of the cousins moving to block. A smirk unfurled on her lips as she watch the other Tokonami blockers move to Himari as Yui elegantly dunked the ball over the net.

It was silent after the ball hit the ground, the Aobajohsai girls weren't expecting a setter dump either as Yui almost never used them. But the silence was broken as they cheered for their captain and felt their spirits rise. Yui wasn't sure what it was about the last half of the game, maybe it was the pressure or that they'd got in the swing of things, but everything seemed to slid into place. Everything just felt right to her.

Her sets felt effortless and were always where they were needed and the spikes seemed to come easy. Blocking was still and issue but Ichika was always there to pick it back up. It wasn't long before they hit match point.

Tokonami bought in a pinch server who had a nasty habit of changing between float serves and jump serves. Yui felt good despite this. She was back on the back row where her strengths could be heard in receiving and with Ichika as libero the girls were confident they'd make the point. The ball flew over the net before hovering slightly, uncertain of where it was going to land but Ichika called for it with confidence.

Despite the confidence the ball flew off to the left, going out of the court lines and towards the bench. Yui knew she was closest and didn't hesitate to sprint after the ball, turning in the air as she delivered a long set. She didn't have time to aim it like she usually would but she had faith in her team. Amaya's black hair shot up with her as she bought her hand down for a straight shot that was received annoyingly well by Tokonami's libero.

"Chance ball!" Tokonami's number 2 called out as she set the ball for her team. Three players ran forward, their eyes burning with desperate determinism to keep playing. Yui didn't have time to stop as she ran back to her place on the court to receive a ball that had been spiked by one of the cousins. Yui groaned as the ball stung her arms and flew into the air. Yuki managed to hit the ball up before it hit the floor, sliding on the court watching as Chiharu got the last hit.

Tokonami had the luxury to plan out their next attack as Aobajohsai struggle to get back in formation. This time Chiharu managed to touch the ball.

"One touch!" The girl grunted out as she hit the floor, her head following the ball as Yuki passed it to Yui. The game was moving so fast, Yui watched as her teammates moved in a blur of white and turquoise and let the ball just brush her fingertips.

"Smash it!" One of the girls on the side screamed but Yui couldn't tell who. Himari was ready and waiting for the ball, her eyes focusing on the smallest of Tokonami's blockers and how her arms were too far apart. The ball was set just perfectly for Himari to smash in between the blockers arms, a yell passing her lips as she smashed the ball as hard as she could. Everyone held their breath as they watched the ball hit the ground, two Tokonami players diving to attempt to keep it in the air.

Immediately, the Aobajohsai girls cheered. The girls who were on the bench ran out to engulf their teammates on the court till they were all piled on the floor. A couple of the girls were crying and Yui had never smiled so hard in her life. They quickly pulled themselves together so that they could thank Tokonami for playing but once the formalities were dealt with the Aobajohsai girls went back to celebrating.

Whilst the girls were chatting nonstop as they packed up their things, Yui glanced at the audience trying to spot a certain third year. He had promised to come after all. However when she scanned through the Seijou cheering section she couldn't find him. But she'd didn't give up her search, Yui assumed he hadn't wanted to be bothered by his fan girls. Her hopes were lifted when she saw a couple of the boys from the volleyball team cheering but the captain wasn't with them. Yui wasn't sure why it upset her so much.

Trying her best to ignore the way her chest felt, Yui led her team out of the building so they could celebrate with her team. Even the quieter members like Chiharu and Yuki were bubbling with excitement, telling each other how well they'd played. Yui joined in with complimenting how well her girls had played, making sure to comment of everyone.

"Congratulations girls!" Matsukawa called out, Hanamaki and Iwaizumi walking with him. Each of them were dressed in casual clothes which was strange for the girls who mostly saw them in their volleyball garbs. Yui noticed how flushed Akemi got when Iwaizumi complimented her serves and decided to let the two have their moment before asking about Oikawa.

"Hey Iwaizumi senpai?" Yui tapped the taller boy on his shoulder, interrupting his conversation with Himari and Akemi.

"Oh hey Yui, you played amazing today. I'd much rather you were our setter that Shittykawa." He chucked as he thought about how annoying his best friend could be.

"Ah thank you senpai you're really too kind." Yui's face flushed at the compliment.

"On the topic of your captain, I was wondering if he was here too." Yui had told herself that he was probably just in the bathroom or had to leave quickly to pick up his nephew, anything but him forgetting his promise.

"Oh didn't he tell you? He went to watch Karasuno to see if they made it through." Even though Yui and Iwaizumi weren't close, the boy could tell that his news had upset her. It wasn't obvious, Yui still kept that absentminded smile but her eyes dulled as she inhaled sharply as if reminding herself to breath.

"Oh right that makes sense, he does have a bit of an obsession with Kageyama-kun." Yui laughed slightly as she rubbed the back of her neck before announcing to her team that they should head off to get some food. The three third years politely turned down the offer to join the celebration. Although the lack of Oikawa's presence had hurt Yui, she wasn't going to let it ruin the joy of winning.

~*~

Yui didn't text Oikawa. Maybe it was petty and childish of her but she refused to respond to his congratulatory message, especially when he made no acknowledgement of his promise to her. Instead she focused hard on training with her team in the week they had before their match with Kakugawa High School.

After their two wins, the girls were feeling much more confident. Because they'd played so many matches against boys teams they'd forgotten how good they were when they played on a female set up. Yui had noticed how everyone's blocks and spikes were higher, it was more obvious now the net had been lowered. Obviously they weren't perfect but their progress in just a few months was nothing short of incredible.

Currently Yui was working a shift with her cousin, something that had become less and less common with all the training that was happening. Keishin was practically gushing about how proud he was of the boys, especially the first years and how much they'd grown. Yui couldn't help but laugh at how he sounded more like a dad than a coach.

When the bell chimed for a customer just as Yui was about to finish her shift, the two cousins stopped their nagging to place their best customer service smile. Yui had a work out bag slung over her shoulder and had taken her hair out of its ponytail but still had her work apron tied around her waist. A familiar orange head bounded in followed by his taller teammate.

"What are you two doing out so late?" Yui didn't really need to ask, when it came to Kageyama and Hinata it was almost always volleyball on their mind. The two first years smiled when they saw Yui, Kageyama blushing when she came over to give them both hugs.

"We were working more on our new quick! It's so cool when Kageyama sets it just right so I can just BAM!" Yui chuckled at Hinata's never ending energy.

"Well I can't wait to see you two show it at nationals." Yui sent them a wink at her suggestion that they'd win InterHigh. A part of her felt bad because if Karasuno moved on to nationals then Aobajohsai wouldn't but her small grudge at the captain washed away any guilt. Yui hung up her apron and announced that she'd be leaving.

"Oh don't you leave close to Kageyama?" Hinata asked innocently. Yui wasn't actually sure if she did but her cousin confirmed it.

"It's getting pretty late Yui I'm sure Kageyama wouldn't mind walking you back." Keishin suggested, he didn't like the idea of his little cousin walking alone at night. Kageyama flushed at the idea of walking Yui back to her house, his mind forming all kinds of possible scenarios.

"Oh if it's not a bother for you Kageyama-kun." Yui noticed how flustered the boy was and assumed that he might not want to walk her home.

"N-no!" Kageyama cleared his throat, "It's really not a problem at all." Yui grinned and waited for him to buy his snack and a carton of milk before they both said goodbye to Hinata and Keishin.

"Keishin said you won all you're matches last week, I'm not surprised but a congratulations is due." Yui broke the silence as they made their way up a small hill towards their neighbourhood. Kageyama was silently cursing himself for not being able to hold a proper conversation.

"Oh um that's really kind Kituchi-san." The boy did everything he could not to run away when he called her by her last name. He, like everyone else, always called her Yui. The girl only laughed at the flustered boy thinking it was endearing how awkward he was off the court. She didn't mention the name slip up not wanting to embarrass the boy further.

Yui was quick to change the topic to something Kageyama would feel more at ease talking about, Volleyball. Despite the fact that the two texted often and had had plenty of conversations before, Kageyama took a while before he stopped being so awkward. Like usual they mostly discussed setting and how challenging it could be but the topic somehow diverged into the topic of school.

Kageyama mentioned how hard he was finding a lot of his essay based subjects whist Yui had gone on a rant about how much she hated Chemistry and Physics. As they drew closer and closer to Yui's house they seemed her get more and more comfortable with each other.

"If you need a hand with homework or revision I'd be happy to help." Yui offered even though she had no idea when she would have the time to do something like that. Kageyama wished he was able to extended the offer back to her but he knew when it came to academics he wasn't exactly tutor material.

When they finally arrived at Yui's door she couldn't help but remember how a different setter had walked her home and kissed her goodnight. The two stood in silence, neither of them knowing what to say before Yui offered her classic soft smile.

"Goodnight Kageyama-kun, I'll be rooting for you!" She reached your on her toes to ruffle the boys hair in a teasing manner, her smile widening when she saw how red he went.

"Uh you too Yui-san!" The boy blurted out before spinning around and almost running back to his house. Yui thought that Kageyama was too cute. The way he seemed to tall and intimidating on court when in reality he was socially awkward and fumbled over his words. He was like a little brother.

Yui made her way inside her house, taking a shoes off at the door and putting her dirty gym clothes in the wash. It was almost midnight and Yui's mum had gone to bed to Yui ate the leftovers in the fridge by herself as she flicked through her phone.

She made sure to send Kageyama a text to thank him and telling him to message her when he was home safe as well as telling her cousin she was home. Then she was checking a group chat with Kuroo, Bokuto, Akaashi, Tsukishima, Himari and herself. Well Tsukishima was in the chat but he never messaged anything, it mostly consisted of Kuroo, Bokuto and Himari spamming the chat with memes. Yui chuckled to herself as she read through all the missed messages, she realised she was friends with some real idiots. Unconsciously, Yui also checked up on Oikawa. He'd posted on his Instagram, it was a picture of him and his nephew, a few hours ago but he hadn't tried to contact her at all.

She debated on whether or not to message him first, Yui was paranoid that maybe the reason he hadn't come to the game was because he was bored of her. She tried to ignore the rumours around the setter now that she knew him but she could hear the gossip of his playboy behaviour practically ringing in her ear.

"God why is it bothering me so much!" Yui aggressively began to clean up her dishes as she mumbled to herself about getting a grip. She had a game in two days and she was caught up in a boy, Oikawa Tooru of all people. Usually Yui would stay up for another few hours on her phone but she marched up the stairs and climbed into bed, not bothering to change her close or take off her makeup. Her dreams were filled with pretty captains.


End file.
